Tracing Memories
by allaurae
Summary: What if they were allowed to stay?   The Pevensie family had assumed that the worst was over when they had defeated Miraz. Now an old threat is arising, and it's target are the two sisters. Updated to T for slight gore. Suspian eventually.
1. Revelation

**Chapter One – Revelation**

**Susan**

_Wind whipped my hair around my face. I stared at the cliff edge, too terrified to move. _

_A figure came up behind me and spoke. She wasn't actually speaking, though. Her words just appeared in my mind. _

_Jump, Susan. Jump. You know you want to. You want to defy their expectations of you. You want to be able to surprise everyone. I know you, Susan. Jump. Jump._

I sat up in a flash, sweating and breathing heavily. Lucy stirred in her bed next to mine, rubbing her eyes and looking very much like the innocent girl she was.

"The nightmare again?" she asked, yawning and stretching like a cat. I nodded. Lucy was the only one I could talk to about it. "What do you think it means?" she asked. I took a deep breath and let it out with a quiet sigh.

"I really don't know, Lu..." I replied, looking down at my hands, curled into fists around the thin blankets. They were still shaking from the wind, the wind that still seemed too real to be a dream.

I heard Lucy crawl out from her bed and pad softly over to mine, crawling under my sheets and curling up next to me. I lay back down next to her, and she nuzzled her head into the crook of my shoulder. She looked up at me, as though wanting approval, and I gave her a small smile and a quick squeeze.

"How long do you think we'll be here this time, Susan?" she asked some time later, knowing I was still awake. I had been pondering the same thing. It was a common fear of ours. I had battling emotions over what I wanted. However, during the battle against Miraz, I decided that Narnia was our true home. Finchley, though it had more logic around it's traditions and expectations, was slowly becoming a prison. A cell with bars, blocking out the rest of the world and keeping everything else in. There were hardly any trees there last time we were there, and just about everything was concrete and metal. I sighed and gave her the best answer I could as sleep finally came over me.

"Forever, I hope."

**-NEXT MORNING-**

"SUSAN! LUCY! GET DOWN HERE ALREADY!" Edmund yelled, loud enough that the entire castle most likely heard him and jolting us awake. Lucy and I looked at each other, then in perfect sync said,

"Breakfast."

Edmund wasn't one to be made hungry. It often ended disastrously. We giggled, and quickly slid into day clothes. Without bothering with my hair, I ran downstairs as fast as I could. Lucy hit the table with a large _slap! _

"I win," she laughed, and I narrowed my eyes playfully at her, pulling her into a hug and tickling her where I knew she was extra sensitive.

"Very queen-like behaviour again today I see, girls," Peter's sarcastic voice came from behind us. I looked at Lucy, and slightly tilted my head in his direction. She smiled, and nodded more visibly back.

"ATTACK!" she screamed, and we ran at him. Realisation dawned on his face, and he had just enough time to cover his head and take his stance when Lucy pounced on his back and I took his feet out.

"No! Stop! Stop it! Off!" he cried out helplessly as we poked him all over his chest, arms and back.

"_Very _queen-like," Edmund grumbled, just loud enough for us to hear, but we all knew that he was taking some evil pleasure in watching his brother trying to get away from our hold.

"I'll say," a distinct Spanish voice said from the door to the dining hall. We all stopped and looked over at Caspian, who was leaning against the door frame with a small amused smile on his face, arms crossed, watching Lucy and me. I felt a small blush come to my cheeks. Peter took his chance to escape from under our sister and me, making us both stumble and land on the hard floor. Lucy looked like she would be in hysterics if it weren't for the guilty smile on her face, barely containing her laughter. I stood up and offered her my hand, which she took. I shook my skirt off, while a breathless Peter made his way over to Caspian, and shook his hand.

"Thanks," he said, tilting his head to the side and taking a deep breath.

I snickered and gave Lucy a high-five.

"Breakfast is served," Caspian announced, and slid back into the dining hall.

"About time," Edmund grumbled, which got a small giggle out of Lucy.

**-LATER-**

After breakfast, Peter insisted that we all go out riding together. Lucy snickered a bit as he rubbed a bit on his arm that we had poked a little too hard.

"We can go past Spar'oom," he offered when Edmund hesitated. At the mention of Spar'oom, his face lit up and he hastily nodded, along with our sister and me. Caspian also agreed to come, if only to get away from the palace. Of course, after the battle, we only had four horses that hadn't been used and were fit to use for riding. Lucy and I offered that we would share a horse together. Lucy giggled that it was either that or Caspian and I share a horse, and we both blushed at that, avoiding each other's eyes. Edmund broke the awkward silence by sneezing loudly, causing Lucy to break into another round of euphoric laughter. Only I could hear the smallest twinge of fear in her voice. Fear that the temptation of Spar'oom would be to great for us, or that the wardrobe itself would suck us back to the human world.

**-LATER-**

"Don't you go telling me you've forgotten your way now, Ed," Peter laughed at his face, which was flushed with frustration, as he jumped off his horse.

"I _know _it's around here, Peter. Maybe you could try leading us the way, with all this rain," he offered cheekily. Peter fell silent and shot him a death stare.

Shortly after departing the castle, rain had come bucketing down on us, so heavy that even Edmund, who could find his way to the light post with his eyes shut, had taken a wrong turn and left us all smirking at him and a very smug Peter.

If we could find the light post, even Caspian would know the way back.

We had shown it to him a few times, and he had memorised the way already.

"I think we should get back soon," he said suddenly with a serious look once we found the light post.

"Why?" I asked, moving my wet hair away from my face. It had stopped raining, but we were still all soaked completely. He shifted, uneasy where he was, peering through the branches at the horizon of trees.

"Where did Peter say he was going again?" he asked, not so easily avoiding my question. I shot him a suspicious look, but still answered politely.

"He was going to try and find any kind of clearing where we can sit down and rest for a while," I said, crossing my arms, "Now answer my question. Why head back after being out such a short while? It's only been two hours,"

He shifted again, facing another direction, and said quietly, just loud enough to hear, "Because there's something I need to tell you all, something that we can only talk about in the safety of the castle. The trees around him shook and sent a wind around us that was quite fast, making it sound like an agreement. Great.

Caspian had already shared his confidential news to the trees, and even the wind was in on the secret.

Peter arrived again, and shrugged, meaning there wasn't any other clearing where the sun shone through for a while, and we'd have to travel by horse to get there. I turned away from him, Lucy now coming up to me and grasping my hand while Edmund shared a rushed explanation of our situation with Peter.

"Tell us now, Caspian. What's going on?" I asked, trying to force as much queenly power into my voice I could without it shaking. He was seriously starting to scare me.

"She's coming back." he said, barely audible.

"Who?" Lucy asked, fear now clearly in her voice.

"We didn't think she would be able to. However a secret council was formed in her honour, those who still believed in her, using the bare remains of her staff, and they are bringing her back from the dead."

"The White Witch." Peter said, understanding lighting up his face.


	2. Forgotten

**Chapter Two - Forgotten**

**Susan**

"What?" Lucy, Edmund and I screeched together. Edmund stumbled back, terror clear in his expression. He had been the first to the meet the Witch, and often blamed himself for the terrible things that followed.

"But... she's dead! Aslan defeated her!" Lucy cried, pulling on her hair with her free hand.

"That hardly stopped her before," Caspian muttered. He would have been remembering the time when her minions had tried to entrance him into bringing her back to life by giving her his blood. Peter almost would have as well, if it weren't for Edmund breaking the spell by shattering her ice.

"No matter how many times we beat her, she keeps coming back," Edmund whispered, turning away from all of us.

"Caspian, are you sure?" I asked, begging for him to say that he had made a mistake or was playing some sick, terrible joke. But he wouldn't do that kind of thing, and it was rare for Caspian to make a mistake, especially about something this important. As if on cue, he nodded solemnly.

My stomach flipped inside me, and Lucy's grip on my hand tightened.

And just like that – the skies opened up again and rain pelted down on us. The trees froze and the wind became savage, flying around all of us like blankets wrapped too tight.

An evil, hateful laughter filled the air. She was closer to us then we thought.

"She can see us," Caspian swore silently, and looked around for an escape or something to cover themselves with.

"And I'm coming to find you... I'm coming to find you, daughters of Eve..." the Witch's voice rang loudly around us, ice and hatred filling it.

_Coming to find us? _I thought in my panic. Lucy was breathing heavily, and her grip on my hand almost made me loose circulation to it.

"Peter. Caspian," Edmund began, "This is usually when one of you has an idea of what to do. Right now it would be appreciated, because I've got nothing."

"We need to run. We can't fight her," Peter said urgently. We all nodded, and jumped on our horses. Thumping against the sides hard, I pulled Lucy closer to me and whispered in her ear,

"It's going to be okay, Lu,"

She swallowed loudly and nodded.

"I know. I just wish I knew what she meant by, '_I'm coming to find you, daughters of Eve'. _Why us? Why only us?"

"I wish I knew, Lu. I really wish I knew,"

-**LATER-**

We rode as fast as we could for half an hour before the storm around us finally began to slowly ease. The laughter had gone away ten minutes ago, and we all took that as a sign that she had left us alone for now. We stopped, giving our horses a rest. Even we were panting slightly. I patted my horse's mane and pressed my forehead against her nose, thanking Aslan that we were still okay.

"Is everyone okay?" Caspian asked from behind me.

"Yea," that was Peter.

"Fine," Edmund replied in a huff.

"Same here," Lucy answered.

_Susan... _

I froze before I answered, the voice from the dream coming back to me, despite being awake.

Of course, now I could finally pinpoint a description of a voice. It was a young girl, with a high-pitched, sweet sounding voice. Almost like Lucy's, but Lucy's had a more mature edge to it.

_Susan... You need to jump, Susan... Jump._

_Susan. Jump. Jump!_

"Susan?" Caspian asked, breaking me from my thoughts. I realised my hands were shaking slightly.

I swivelled and looked straight into his face. His dark eyes were touched with concern, and small beads of sweat had the front strands of his dark brown hair sticking to his forehead. Before I could be accused for staring, I looked away and said, "Uh... yea. Fine. Thanks."

I saw him exhale and sit down on a large rock next to him.

"So... where are we exactly? I lost track of the road a while back," Lucy admitted, putting a hand to her forehead.

"I'm not sure exactly... But I swear I know this area. Cas, come with me. Let's go see if we can find the road. Ed, you stay here and look after the girls," Peter commanded, all the authority of the High King in his voice. Of course, the High King never stopped Edmund before in his quest to defy Peter as often as he could. I also felt slightly insulted.

"I'm not looking after the girls!" he cried, crossing his arms in defiance.

"And we don't need looking after!" I added, standing next to him.

"Ed-" Peter started.

"No! I'm coming with you!"

Peter groaned and stomped over to us, putting his hands on Edmund's shoulders and leaning in close to his face.

"Look. You heard what that Witch said. She said she was coming for Susan and Lucy. Now, Susan might be able to protect her and Lu from far away, but if the Witch gets too close without them noticing, anything could happen. Do you really want to take that risk for some stupid pride?" he exclaimed, hissing it in a low voice.

I looked at Lucy apologetically, knowing it was true. I would almost definitely be able to take the Witch out from long-range, and if she did, in fact, get too close I might have been able to stab her with an arrow as I was learning to do, but the chances of that were very slim.

Edmund looked away from Peter's eyes and nodded slightly.

Peter and Caspian were gone within a second. I sighed and placed a hand on Edmund's back.

"Go on," I groaned, knowing this would definitely result in an argument between Ed and Peter, but who was I to deny a young man his pride?

Edmund shot me a blinding smile, and hurried after the two.

I turned to Lucy. But she was gone.

"Lu?" I called. No reply. Panic jolted through me. Why was Peter always right? "Lucy?" I tried again. This time, I heard a faint cry in the distance. I held my bow ready to shoot, and placed an arrow against the wood and made my way towards it. Soon enough, I came face to face with Lucy, struggling against something that wasn't there. It sounded like she was trying to say something, but all that came out were grunts and moans like someone was holding a hand at her mouth, preventing her from speaking.

"Show yourself, by the order of Queen Susan!" I yelled. I had a pretty good idea who it was. I didn't want to admit it, but I was terrified. But I couldn't leave my little sister behind.

And, sure enough, the Witch dropped her disguise and said,

"Surprise, Queen Susan," in an ice-cold voice.

Something grabbed me from behind, making me drop my bow and arrow. Surprisingly enough, even when the Witch moved away from Lucy, her arms still stayed behind her as though she were bound to something. The Witch waved a hand, and soon Lucy was standing next to me and we were both facing the Witch, kneeling on the ground.

"Lucy," I managed to say around the Witch's spell.

She moaned like she wanted to say something as well, but the Witch had moved forward and was holding a palm out to us both, and muttering strange words that hypnotised us and prevented us from talking.

"_Bee-ehla uuna kner. Ials geherent yorve_. .You will sleep now, Queens of Narnia and daughters of Eve. Sleep, and forget." she whispered in a soothing voice. My eyelids lowered until they were shut, and I felt the drowsiness of a heavy, magic induced-sleep falling over me. When our hands were released, just before we dropped into unconsciousness, I reached out and grabbed Lucy's hand.

**Caspian**

Peter hadn't been too happy when he found Edmund following us.

"I told you to look after the girls!" he had cried.

"They told me themselves to go after you!" had been the reply.

My heart had unwillingly quickened at the thought of Susan, alone in the woods, with a Witch after her. Of course, she wasn't actually alone, but she might as well of been, since Lucy pretty much always refused to fight with real violence.

Susan...

I wasn't sure what I felt towards her. Sometimes I thought she liked me, and I thought I liked her, but other times it seemed like she just wanted to be friends. Now a crazy evil witch was after her, and I really needed to figure out my confused emotions in case...

No, I wouldn't allow myself to think about it.

Finally we reached the horses, where the girls were.

Or at least where they were supposed to be. We'd found the road and had started heading back as fast as we could but... Surely they wouldn't have gone looking for us already. It had only been fifteen minutes.

Peter and Edmund were looking around and calling for them as loudly as they dared. No reply. They were just... gone.

Panic again coursed through my veins.

Where were they?

**Susan**

I woke up, as if from a daze and clutching a small hand in mine. I was lying on a forest floor in an unknown place. I looked up, and noticed that the owner of the small hand was also stirring.

I recognised the face.

"Lucy?" I asked.

"Susan?" came the reply. We looked at each other and threw our arms around each other's necks.

"Where are we?" she asked in a small voice. I looked around again, but saw nothing I recognised.

"I've got no clue," I admitted, standing up. She followed. As soon as I was on two feet, I hunched over as the white-hot feel of pain hit my stomach. I put my hand to where the pain was coming from, and when I brought it away, it was smeared with blood.

Great. Wounded, lost and practically alone.

The plot from a horror story.

Lucy helped me regain my posture once the pain dimmed slightly, becoming almost bearable, and examined the wound. She explained that it wasn't gushing out blood or anything, and it didn't look very deep. She ripped a piece of the lining from her dress and handed it to me. Gratefully, I took it, and pressed it to my stomach.

Suddenly, she realised how we were dressed. Noble clothes, healthy looking, neat hair...

"W_ho _are we?" she asked with wide eyes.

"I..." I thought I saw a memory, but it was gone as soon as I tried to grasp it. "I've got no clue," I repeated. I blinked. I really did have no clue who I was. The only detail about anything left in my mind was Lucy.

"Neither have I," she agreed, then paused and said, "So... I guess we might be sisters?" I thought about this for a moment.

"Let's try walking around. Things might come back to us," I suggested. She nodded, then looked behind me and pointed.

"Maybe we should bring those with us, just in case," she said. I turned to see where she was pointing, and noticed a bow and full quiver lying on the ground. Without hesitating, I picked it up and slung them over my shoulder.

That was weird. It felt... _right _to have it with me. Like it was a part of me that I should never let go of. Lucy put a hand to her own waist, and noticed she was wearing a belt that held a large vial of strange, red liquid and a small empty sheath, most likely for a dagger of some sort. She looked at me curiously, and I shrugged. I had no idea what the liquid was, either. I pressed the cloth closer to my wound, trying to ignore the pain, and put on a brave face.

"Ok then... let's go."

**Peter**

Where the hell had those two gone?

I was trying to convince myself that we would have noticed if the Witch had turned up to steal them away, but that still couldn't slow the beating of my heart. I had promised Mum that I would protect them, at all costs. And I had vowed to myself as the Witch laughed at us earlier that I wouldn't let her get to the girls. But how could I protect them if I had no idea where they were or what danger they were in?

The other two weren't much of a help to soothe my fears.

Caspian looked just as worried as me, though his feelings were probably more about Susan than Lucy. However, I still had no doubt that he was concerned for Lucy as well, just not as much.

Edmund was continuously wringing his wrists, biting his lip and muttering things like, "Where are they? What's happened to them? Aslan, please help them."

Caspian didn't look like he was prepared to put on a brave face without any assistance, and Edmund would mock me later if I didn't try and do anything brave or leader-like, though he probably thought both of those as just me being bossy or over-protective.

Caspian went off again to look one last time for any hints of what happened. If he couldn't find any, we would return to the castle for assistance.

I thumped Edmund on the back, and asked again slowly, "Where. Did. You. Last. See. Them."

I saw a glimpse of irritation at being patronised, but it was gone when he registered what I was asking and realised it could help us find them.

"I told you already. When you left, Susan was standing right beside me and Lucy was sitting behind her. Then Susan told me to follow you, and I did. I. Didn't. Look. Back," he finished, imitating my tone of voice.

Just then, Caspian returned to us, his eyes wide and... scared?

"Peter..." he began. I saw he was holding two objects out to us.

"Caspian, what are they?" I replied, moving closer. Edmund followed, however we both backed away slightly as soon as we recognised the objects in his hands.

One of Susan's arrows. Broken in half.

Lucy's dagger. It was still dripping with blood, practically to the hilt.

"Oh no," Edmund mumbled, holding a hand to his mouth.

"Peter... Lucy wouldn't-" Caspian began, looking up. The fear and concern was now clear in his eyes, and hit me like a slap in the face as I realised I was alone in trying to be brave.

"I know," I stated, shutting him up before he said the truth that I didn't want to admit.

Lucy would never, ever, dare stab someone that deeply with her dagger.

Which meant someone else had.


	3. Worry

**Chapter Three – Worry**

**Susan**

_Susan._

_Susan, Susan. I'm coming to find you. I'm coming to get you. _

_You need to jump, Susan. Jump. You need to resist their judgement._

_You want to, Susan. So jump._

_The cliff. I stood at the cliff again, wearing a long white dress. And there she was, the girl with the sweet voice. I tried turning around. I needed to get away from the edge of this cliff. I didn't want to die, and I certainly wasn't about to kill myself because a little girl told me to. _

_Except I couldn't get away. All around me were black shapes, figures I couldn't see the faces of. The only thing I could almost see was the girl. She was wearing a little black dress. Her hair was the colour of the clouds, and her face was hidden by a long fringe. All I could see was her mouth, twisted into an evil, sick grin. Her hands had blood on them, stained from the figures around her, her previous victims. She walked towards me with bare feet, stopping right behind me. She had cornered me. This wasn't her trying to win. It wasn't a fight. It was a victory._

_I turned again, facing the cliff edge. She came up behind me, standing on the top of her toes like a ballerina in order to reach my ear. I wouldn't face her._

_Jump, Susan. I hear her voice in my head and as she whispered it in my ear._

_Jump._

_I'm coming for you, Susan. I know where you are. You can't hide from me. _

_Jump, Susan. Jump. _

"_Why are you doing this?" I ask her, my voice not sounding like my own, husky and deep, as though over used from screaming too much. _

"_Reasons. You need to jump, Susan. Jump. I want to hurt you, Susan. So you need to jump." she cooed in my ear, her cold hands attaching to both of my arms as she encouraged me back towards the edge of the cliff. _

"_Why haven't you hurt me yet?" I asked, my voice shaking. She laughed, the sound demonic._

"_I have."_

_I looked down at myself. That's when I see myself for the first time properly. Cuts and bruises are everywhere on my skin, and a large blood stain is on my dress, just above my belly button. I scream. She laughs again._

_I look at my arms, and my screams increase._

_Tally marks, painted on with ink cover both of them in groups of five. I don't know how but I know their meaning. A mark for every wound she has given me. The marks begin to burn, and draw my attention to my chest._

_Over my heart was a large, black X._

My own screams woke me up. Lucy must have woken up a while ago, as she is also shaking my shoulders, trying to break through the nightmare. I begin to sob, and bury my head in her chest.

What the hell was that dream about? Why was it so familiar? Was it a memory?

Finally, I began to calm as I registered the forest floor beneath me, and the soothing hands of Lucy as she caressed my hair.

We were about to try and go back to sleep, though I doubted it would come back to me tonight, when a cool, resonant voice echoed from behind our make-shift camp.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Two lost and alone Telmarine women? You'll make great gifts to her majesty when she wakens properly," the man said. He was very short, and had a long red beard.

_Dwarf. _A voice echoed the word in the back of my head.

We sat up straight away. I felt for the bow, _my _bow, but my fingers could only find dirt in their panicked rush. Not to mention that the sudden movement of sitting up had made my wound flare again, making it as painful as before.

"Susan... Don't try and attack. We... we won't be able to win," Lucy said, looking around. I craned my neck and saw that other human-like beings armed with weapons were surrounding us. I slowly put down the bow.

"Smart girlie," the dwarf said approvingly, a smug smile coming upon his scarred face.

"What do you want?" I demanded. His smile turned evil, and he took a step towards us.

**Caspian**

It had been 24 hours. 24 hours since they had gone missing. They hadn't returned to the castle, and after sending three different waves of patrolling Narnians, not a trace of them had been seen. Peter wouldn't stop fretting over the knife and broken arrow. His attitude was making me more nervous then I was, if that was possible. He seemed to be trying to put on a brave face, but I knew him better then that. Meanwhile Edmund hadn't come out of his room ever since we had gotten back, and I had a faint feeling he was panicking and pacing, just as I was doing now.

"Where _are _they?" I was muttering, walking back and forth in the great hall.

"Try and relax, Caspian. You know Susan will do everything she can to protect Lucy and her," Peter said, most likely trying to cool his own fears as well.

"That's what I'm afraid of," I said, looking right into his eyes. Susan was so brave. _Too _brave. She had no idea how much of my time I spent wondering if she was alright. Especially lately, she seemed to always be distracted by something and was often falling off into her own little world. Usually this wouldn't bother me, if it weren't for the fact that she always had a scared glint in her eyes and that every night for the past while I had been waking up to her screams, which had me almost bolting into her room to protect her from the demons that clouded her eyes as soon as she shut them.

It had seemed that I had not been alone in hearing her voiced terror every night, as soon enough Lucy had moved another bed into Susan's room and then suddenly her own eyes had their own glint of fear in them every morning when she came down to breakfast.

After standing outside of their room for small periods of time when I had instinctively run to Susan's aid, I had gathered small parts of information.

There was a dream, a cliff and an imaginary girl. How these things were connected I had no idea, but I swore as soon as we found the girls, I would enquire about their meaning in the most discreet way possible.

Again my distraction broke, and I was hurtled head-first back into worry about the girls.

Yes, I would inquire when they returned.

The key factor in that was, if they were even returning. I swallowed loudly that Peter probably heard and rushed back to my room so he wouldn't see my face breaking into panic again.

**Susan**

"Please, sir. My sister is wounded. You've got to help her," Lucy pleaded as the dwarf directed to two of his comrades to secure the chains binding us to the wall of our cells.

I groaned, and my eyes rolled back into my head slightly as the tugging weight of the iron rings around our wrists pulled my entire body onto the ground with a _thump_. The worst pain I could recall feeling shot through my body, and I had to hold back a scream.

"Have I now? We'll see what her majesty says to that when she is well enough to move around, wench," he sneered, turning and leaving the cold room.

The door thudded, closing our one source of light. Lucy rushed as close to me as she could before her own bindings pulled her back. She helped me lean back against the cool surface of our cell walls. I put my hand to it in curiosity.

_Ice_? I thought meekly as I shut my eyes and put my hand on Lucy's. She was sobbing slightly.

"How did this happen, Susan? What did we do to wind up locked in such a terrible place?" she cried, her tears hitting our joined hands. I gave her the best comfort I could when we where chained so far apart, which was merely a pat on the hand.

"We'll get out, Lucy. I promise. I bet somewhere in this odd world there is our very own Prince Charming plotting exactly how to come find us. Then he'll burst in the door, sweep us off our feet one at a time and ride with us back to his castle. Then we'll discover he has a twin who stayed behind to look after the people, and we shall have identical husbands," I promised, a small insecure laugh escaping my chapped lips. She gave a very, _very _small laugh and patted my hand back.

"Simple dreams, Susan," she chided lightly. I smiled and leant over as far as I could and entwined three of our longest fingers, and whispered a faint reply.

"Simple dreams, Lu."

**-THE NEXT DAY-**

I stirred, and raised my heavy eyelids as the large door to our ice-cell swung open and our captor plus two of his guards walked in menacingly.

"I figured it's time you learnt the name of he who stole you away, ladies," he said proudly, crossing his arms over his chest, "My name is Stterog."

I groaned, and gave Lucy's hand another small comforting tap. Looking over, I noticed the fear in her eyes even as she gave me a smile back.

Stterog looked at his friends, who slunk up to us and took the chains off the walls. I breathed a sigh of relief as a small amount of the pressure released. Lucy did the same. Our wrists were still bound, but the tight pulling feeling had gone. I pulled as hard as I could towards Lucy, who did the same to me.

"Simple dreams, Lu," I whispered into her hair so that only she could hear. She nodded slightly. Because we took our holders by surprise by leaping away, we had managed to clutch each other for a grand total of two seconds before we were yanked apart. Again, this movement caused my wound to flare, and I wasn't able to hold back the yell of pain.

"Please, Stterog, sir. Help her," Lucy pleaded, and I could hear the tears in her eyes.

"My answer is the same. I'm sure her wound will heal," he said stubbornly, turning away from us just as he did the previous night, and walked out the cell. Our holders followed him.

After sitting in darkness for over twelve hours, the bright light of the garden outside almost blinded me. The castle we were being held at was weird. I really couldn't describe it if I tried. Every time I tried to focus on it, my eyes would move to something totally random. All I could figure out was that it had a large base and a thin top, and was the pale blue of a frozen ocean.

"It's a cloaking spell. Don't try and look at anything at the castle. You won't be able to, and it will damage your eyes," Stterog grumbled in front of us, most likely assuming our confusion.

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked a moment later.

"Though she is still sleeping, you are going to look upon the face of your master. You will also meet the mistress, and be shown what your duties will be at the castle until her majesty wakens again," he said, authority lacing his words. I had a strange feeling that he didn't have much of a say as to how things worked when his master was awake, and was taking as much advantage of his power while they were she was asleep as possible.

He led us up what I think were stairs made of marble, and I relished the feel of the cool stone under my bare and battered feet.

After entering a large room, I was finally able to focus on things.

There was a grand four-poster bed, a long dresser and a thick fur rug adoring the room, which was quite empty considering the open space. The walls were made of the same material as our cell-wall, and the floor seemed to be made of some kind of stone I couldn't name.

I blinked a few times, and just like that, my focus went crazy again. Stterog led us over to the bed, and opened the curtains around it.

On it lay a very beautiful lady.

She had golden hair, and though her face seemed slightly worn with age, she just had an aura of perfection around her, making her glow. Not literally, of course, but her mere image did make you want to look away, as if your eyes were not blessed enough to look upon her.

Stterog spoke behind us.

"This is her majesty. Her name is Jadis. Jadis the White Witch."

**Edmund**

I was going mad with worry.

I'd fallen asleep last night crying, and this morning, after seeing the state Caspian and Peter were in, I couldn't help but mutter,

"Geeze, Susan. Lucy, _really_? Why can't you two just come back, already. Look at what you're putting these two through. Hurry up and get back here so that everything can go back to normal."

It was more of a prayer then a command, honestly. But seriously though, I wasn't sure how much longer we could hide the disappearance of the queens from their people. And as soon as the other countries found out that we were missing half the monarchs, who knows what could happen. Of course, that was just a minor fact.

Honestly, I just wanted my sisters back. Was that too much to ask?

Just like that, a wave of realisation washed over him.

_Of course! _They'd been so thick up till now, overpowered with worry, that they'd missed the obvious truth in front of them. The White Witch had taken Susan and Lucy, so they'd be taken to _her castle_!

The relief of finally getting an answer was immediately overthrown by horror. Oh, Aslan, help them.

They were with the White Witch.

**(A/N)**

**Hello to everyone who reads this, author here :)**

**This is my first fanfic and I'm a bit rough, so if there are any mistakes, please don't refrain from letting me know. What do you think of the recurring dream Susan is having? And Stterog? **

**If there is a certain name of character or event you want to have happen, please leave a review and I'll see if I can slot it in anywhere. **

**So, I'm really _really _curious about what you guys think. So far I only got one review on the last two chapters, and I'm worried that the story is bad or that no one is reading it! Will update soon anyway. **

**Please R&R! **

**allaurae**


	4. Simple Dreams

**Chapter Four – Simple Dreams**

**Peter**

"Peter! I know where they are!" Edmund came screeching down to the great hall, with Caspian in his wake. I was slowly chugging down another glass of wine, when he flung the doors open and charged in at full speed. It took a moment for me to process his words before I realised he was talking about Susan and Lucy.

"Where are they?" I almost yelled, throwing the empty goblet away and running up, putting my hands on his shoulders. Behind him, Caspian's eyes were wild with excitement, however I noticed very faint lines on his cheeks, as though he had been crying.

I didn't think about it for too long. Caspian's secrets were his to worry about right now, and I wasn't in the slightest concerned that my friend had been having an emotional release. Edmund was panting. It was more obvious that he had been crying, due to his still-red eyes and wavering voice.

"We've been so blind. They're with that _demon. _That bi-" he began to say, but I cut him off in irritation.

"Where. The hell. Are. They?" I yelled for real this time, my hands nearly curling into fists on his shoulders. For once, maybe I would be able to get a real answer out of him.

"They're with the White Witch," he said, no sign of hurt or being insulted at my loud outburst.

"Shit." Caspian swore behind him.

**Susan**

"_Now _where are we going?" Lucy asked in exasperation, after we had walked the castle a hundred times through.

"I already told you seven times, Missy," Stterog said through clenched teeth, "We are trying to find the mistress."

"And who exactly is '_the mistress'_?" she prodded, voicing the thoughts I was not bold enough to speak.

"She is her majesty's daughter. Now be quiet or so help me I will cut your tongue out," Stterog cried, turning on us and drawing a small knife from his belt. Lucy's face froze over with shock. We were quickly learning that he had a rather large temper and a very short patience range. I hoped for her sake that Lucy would stop talking. It was bad enough that one of us was injured, we didn't need another.

This thought distracted me for a moment.

My injury still wasn't getting better. It wasn't getting worse either, but it still ached as deeply as it did the day Lucy and I woke up. I still couldn't remember how I got it, and something told me that our captors weren't about to throw me in a sick bay and treat me any time soon. So, in fear that they would do something drastic, I kept my mouth shut and bit back cries and tears of pain with every movement. Of course, this meant I hadn't exactly been talkative the last two days or so. Every time Lucy gave me a 'concerned sister' look, I would nod and bite my lip, hoping I looked okay. I had a sneaking suspicion the colouring of my face and my lips bleeding from being bitten so hard were giving me away.

I'd promised Lucy that Prince Charming would come save us eventually, but when would '_eventually_' come?

"Finally," Stterog muttered, and came to a halt outside two doors when another dwarf whispered something in his ear. With added effect by everyone's wish to stand still for a few minutes, it was like a scene in a movie when the two grand doors swung open to reveal a brightly lit room.

I didn't get much of a chance to see it though, as a young girl practically pounced on Stterog the moment the room was open.

"Stteri! It's about time you found me! Do you have any idea how easy it is to hide from you! It was like you weren't even playing! Not to mention I didn't hear you even yell, 'ready or not, here I come'!" She babbled on relentlessly. Honestly, it was painful just _listening _to this girl. Was she really this White Witches' offspring? Maybe that meant our real captor actually had a heart.

Stterog pushed the girl, who was only as tall as him, as far away from himself as possible.

"Mistress. We found these two Telmarine women about two days ago. Their official assignment is to be your mother's personal assistants, however they might... entertain you until she wakes up. Have fun," he explained disdainfully, then left us alone with the bubbly girl.

Unlike the furniture, I was able to appreciate her features. She had long, blonde hair that came down to her lower back, and crystal blue eyes that was the colour of the ice that was the walls to her bedroom. Her features seemed just as perfect as her mothers, only it was less in-your-face. Her image didn't make you want to look away, just made you have a little dark feeling in your gut that you weren't good enough to be in her presence. She must have been just a little bit older then Lucy, though she was shorter. With a start, I realised she was talking again.

"Oh, I see. Mhm. Very interesting. Come in, come in," she ushered us in. Directing for us to sit, she called for a pot of tea which soon arrived as though it had been merely waiting for her call before making its appearance. I smiled at the thought.

Handing Lucy and I a cup of tea each, she plopped down on one of the many pillows scattered around her room. They seemed to be the only thing I could take in about her room, other then the large double doors leading to what I assumed to be a balcony.

"So, what were you two doing out in the middle of the forest?" she asked brightly. I blinked a few times, but I couldn't help but notice something strangely familiar about her. Plus, I realised, Stterog hadn't mentioned that he had found us in the forest. How did she know? I opened my mouth to ask so, but I very quickly stopped.

_Susan._

_I'm so close now, Susan. Closer then you think._

_You need to Jump, Susan. Jump. Susan._

_Su-san. Jump, ._

_You want to, Susan. _

I couldn't help but stare straight into the ice-cold eyes of my tormentor as fear coursed through my veins. I could feel it this time, though. I wanted, no, _needed _to go somewhere. I didn't know where, but I shouldn't be here. I didn't belong here. I needed to-

"Susan?" Lucy's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Ah, it's nothing. Don't worry, Lu," I comforted her. She didn't look like she believed me, but she let it go. I realised my hands were curled into tight fists, so tight that my nails were almost drawing blood on my palms. The other girl gave a curious look, but she too, soon changed the subject of our attention. Giving us very little warning, she bounded over and placed one hand on each of our wrists, covering the chains that were still attached. After a moment, I thought I heard a cracking noise, and the heavy chains immediately dropped to the floor. After repeating the process to our other wrist, the relief was so sweet it nearly brought tears to my eyes. Lucy scooted closer to me and gently wrapped her arms around my neck. I could feel that her own eyes were wet against my neck. We both gave a single laugh, and I hugged her back gratefully.

"Thank you, miss..." I began, however stopped when I realised that we still didn't know her name.

"Petrea. Call me Petrea," she said, her voice lifted even higher upon realising our relief from having our binding chains released. Beside me, Lucy sat a little straighter, and brushed her hair to the side.

"Of course. Petrea. If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm fourteen, why?" she replied, tilting her head to the side.

"Wow, so that only makes you two years older then me! How did you do that thing with our chains just then?" Lucy continued, sounding more and more like Petrea.

"Mother taught me some of her magic when I was very young. I can freeze the water in everything, and bring the frost to the surface of the object. With your chains, I merely brought the water through the centre of your wrist guards, then broke the ice in half so that they separated. It's easy. Watch," she said, holding up the still hot pot of tea.

I was going to protest that she shouldn't touch such a hot object, let alone break it, but something told me she knew what she was doing.

Gently, Petrea placed her hand against the middle of the pot. I noticed that she winced slightly before closing her eyes to focus. So she wasn't a master of her trade yet, after all. I watched with great curiosity as she slowly pulled her hand away, wrist first, followed by her palm and finally her fingertips. A thin layer of ice protruded, growing from where her hand had been before spreading across and around the sides. With a resonating _crack_, the pot split in two and fell to the floor.

"Are you sure you won't get into trouble for that?" Lucy asked, her eyes as wide as mine.

"Nah, it's alright. Besides, Mother and I both despised that tea pot. It always burnt us," Petrea said with a smile. She was sounding more and more odd. Just as I was beginning to contemplate the sanity of the young girl, Stterog opened the doors and stormed in.

"Play time is over. You two are going back to your cell, and mistress Petrea, you are going to your lessons," he ordered. Ignoring how he discreetly changed his addressing to his mistress from _mistress _to _mistress Petrea, _I looked back over my shoulder at our new friend as we were departing, and gave small smile with as much enthusiasm as I could.

Yet her returning smile almost made me trip.

It was filled with so much sadness, such loneliness, but at the same time, a hatred so deep it would burn most people from the inside out, and her eyes were cold and lifeless, like that of a corpse.

**Caspian**

I wanted to yell in frustration. _Two days. _It had been two days since the girls had gone missing, six hours since we realised where they must be, and _still _the debate among our council was ongoing about what we should do.

Some said that we needed to get as much help there as soon as possible, while others thought that we should only send four maximum troops to her castle, _assuming _it was still where it was when Edmund and Peter were last there, and others (though these were a very select few) argued that the girls were as good as dead anyway and that there was no point in sending any more men into danger over lives that could have already been lost.

It was the latter argument that had the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Though almost everyone had ruled out that option immediately, the small possibility of it was making my heart race and my blood boil at the same time.

I would probably never forgive myself if something had happened to Lucy, and especially Susan. Neither would Peter or Edmund. And yet, as the likelihood of this became more and more dominant, our decision for a way of going about the situation was becoming less and less resolved. After deciding I couldn't stand it in that room any longer, I had left as fast as I could lest I brake anything in my rampage. Now, standing in the garden, I heard Peter, Edmund, Reepicheep and Trufflehunter come up to me from behind.

"Your majesty, what do you propose we do?" Trufflehunter asked. I almost growled in frustration, and pushed my hair away from my face in an attempt to do something with my hands that wasn't destructive.

"I honestly don't care, Trufflehunter, I just wish that the council would make up their minds already so that we can do _something. _I wish they could discover some way of saving Susan and Lucy that didn't involve an army or an elite group of Narnians and Telmarines,"I grunted, probably a little too forcefully.

"There's a way. There's always been a way," Peter piped up. I whirled around and pulled my hands down.

"What?" Edmund and I cried in unison. Peter crossed his arms over his chest, looked us evenly in our eyes and stated clearly,

"_We _go."

**Lucy**

"Susan... Are you sure that you're okay for now?" I asked for probably the millionth time that night. Sleep wasn't coming easy to either of us. She exhaled loudly in something that I think was an attempt at a laugh, and I dimly saw her nod her head. I had a feeling she was trying not to talk. When Stterog had dumped us in the cell, one of his comrades had pushed Susan to the ground with too much force, and she had opened her wound again. Only this time, it seemed to be much worse. The flesh around her wound was swollen and raw, and the wound itself looked twice as deep as it had when I'd looked at it that day in the forest. I didn't want to worry her, and even if I had told her the truth we couldn't have done anything about it, so I'd lied and told her it looked like it was slowly healing. I think she'd seen through my forced cheerful tone and fake smile, though.

Lies... I was keeping a lot from Susan. I hadn't told her, and she hadn't noticed, but small details were coming back to me. Not much, just little memories and details that I assumed to be insignificant or obvious.

For starters, I was twelve years old, and Susan was seventeen. This place wasn't our home, a strange place called Finchely was, but we were travellers trying to make this strange place our home. In everything I had recalled, there had always been three other figures usually there, in different orders and combinations. One of them, I'm pretty sure, was Susan's boyfriend. I didn't tell her about him, though, because I was also remembering fighting, and death. There were bombs, lots of bombs. And swords. Two common things were an odd-shaped horn and one particularly large sword that had the same detail on it as the horn.

And a lion. There always seemed to be a lion.

On the horn, on the sword, on shields, and even just as memories. Especially just as memories. There was one lion, a lion who felt like a spiritual leader to me, but at the same time a kind of father.

Every time this lion appeared to me, though, I shook it off and focused on something else.

Right now, my attention needed to be on Susan. I put my (now free thanks to Petrea) hand to her face and felt tears. I dropped to my knees beside her and begged for something that could help.

"Tell me a story. That might help, Lu." she asked in a very weak voice that broke my heart.

"There's a young king. And two captured girls, remember? He was planning with his friends, kings of other countries, on how to save these girls, because he was in love with one the girls, and the other was his sister. Their council argued and argued over what to do, until finally the king and his friends decide that they will go in secret to rescue the girls. They arrive, only to find that they can't remember themselves. After much fighting, they all escape. The king kisses his love, and talks to his sister about their deceased father and mother. The girls remember themselves, and the torture they had to go through at their captor's palace. The king goes back and kills the evil wizard who had taken the girls, and brings back a spell to make the girls forget their hard times. He gives them a choice, however. They decide not to use it, so that they can work to make themselves better people, and stay as strong as their memories made them. The king marries his love, and his sister marries her own sweetheart, a long-time friend. And they all lived... happily ever after..." I trailed off from my own words, feeling tears once again prick my eyes. I think Susan smiled as she put her hand against my cheek, her fingers cold and most likely numb.

"Simple dreams, Lu. Simple dreams," she whispered. She passed out, probably from blood loss, with her head in my lap as I sobbed quietly. If only simple dreams could get us out of this place.

**(A/N)**

**Hey guys, me again.**

**So far I've received a grand total of 3 reviews, and my worries that almost no one is reading this is growing.**

**At school we've just hit smack into the middle of exam and assessment time, so updates might become a little slower. Keep checking back, and I'll try and, for an absolutely minimum average, write and release 1 chapter a week for the next while. In about two or three more weeks exams and such slow down, so releases might get a bit faster. **

**Yet again, if there is anything you would like included into the story, write a review or something and I'll try and fit it into the story. **

**Please please please _please _rate and review, I only know two people's opinions!**

**Bye :)**

**allaurae**


	5. Enduring

**Chapter Five – Enduring**

**Caspian**

"When are we going?" I asked again, putting a fist down onto the table that Peter, Edmund, Reepicheep, Trufflehunter, Trumpkin and I were standing around. Trumpkin had recently been included in our decision to save the girls in secret, after coming to a decision that he would want to be included in rescuing his DLF. I was anxious to leave, but honestly, all I wanted was for Susan to be back here, safe. I was concerned for Lucy, as well, of course. However my fear for her was different to what I felt for Susan. Lucy was my beloved little sister, the sister I could never have but always wanted.

Susan, though. Susan was who I was worried sick about, who made my heart beat faster when I was around, who I could imagine being in love with, but never got to the chance to figure out my feelings for. And now I might have been too late. Shaking my head, I repeated my question to Peter.

"We leave in two days time, during the moonless night. We will have total darkness to stealth our run. Until then, we need to act totally normal, as though we are willing to go through with the council's decision, if they come up with one. Have patience," he said, closing his eyes. I suspected that he was saying his words to himself just as much as he was ordering us to do so. I nodded and exhaled the breath that I had been unknowingly holding in.

At least Peter had a plan. If I was in his position as the un-official leader of our conspiracy, I wasn't sure I would have half the confidence that he did, whether it was forced or not.

_Susan... _I thought, _we're coming. _

**Lucy**

Susan's shaking woke me up. I guessed it to be early morning, and she was sweating like crazy. She was lying with her head in my lap, and I could tell she was boiling. She was muttering things too low for me to hear, and her eyes were squinted shut so tight that she looked like she was in so much pain she could've been giving birth.

I sat there for a few minutes, doing everything I could to make her temperature lower, however eventually her clenched jaw unlocked and Susan, my dearest sister, let loose a scream of utter agony that I never wanted to hear again. Obviously my weak attempts were not helping her, possibly making her pain worse, so I swallowed my pride and yelled out as loud as I could.

"Please! Please, someone help her! Someone help my sister! I'm begging you!" I cried, tears coming to my eyes as I formed the words with as much pleading in my voice as I could.

Still, no help came. More tears broke loose as I watched my sister writhe, and it was all I decided I could do to pray to whatever lord was out there and hope that she wasn't concious. Her screams meant she was alive, but if she wasn't actually concious, then at least she wouldn't remember the hours of pain that I witnessed her going through. Eventually, after her voice started breaking and sobs escaped her, indicating that she had woken up, something in me snapped and I pushed her head off of my lap and ran to the huge door.

"HELP HER! She needs someone to help her! Please, I'm begging you! I'll do anything! HELP HER!" I screamed through the thick cell confinements. And still, no help came, although I was certain that someone had to of heard me that time.

Susan sobbed again, not bothering to hold her pain in since she had already made it so blatantly obvious.

I knelt against the door, hitting my clenched fist against it and crying in defeat. We must have stayed like that for an hour or so before finally, Susan managed to get any kind of word out.

"Lucy..." she whispered, only just loud enough that I could hear. I materialised by her side, holding her hand.

"Give me the pain, Su. Squeeze my hand and release some of your pain. What do you want? Tell me what you want, and I'll tell the guards," I whispered to her between my tears. They dropped onto her face, and mixed with her own tears. She squeezed my hand so hard that my circulation was cut off, and my fingers began going numb. Still, I clenched my own jaw against the feel and convinced myself this was what she needed. Susan looked like she was trying to smile.

"You lied, Lu. It's not getting better, is it?" she stammered out quietly. I knew that she was only teasing, but my heart broke as I realised that if I had told her that her wound was getting worse we might have been able to do something about it earlier on.

"Yea. Something like that," I hissed out.

"Tell me, Lu. What does it look like? Describe it to me," she requested. I could tell she would have to stop talking soon, or else she would loose to much energy and might faint again. And although I knew that it would be more comfortable for her that way, I couldn't help but feel that if she went to sleep now she would never wake up. So, to keep her from complaining, I gently moved aside the crimson-stained material covering her wound.

I nearly gagged.

The smell that came off what horrendous, and the image was even worse. The main wound was deep and chaffed from the cloth, and I felt like if I held a light to the wound I would be able to see right down to the bones in her body. Her skin was tattered and peeling, with little bubbles of pus surrounding the wound. Obviously, it was infected, and that wasn't helping her recover at all. I could swear that the injury had gotten twice as deep as when I had first inspected it, in the woods. It was a wonder she hadn't already died of blood loss.

Susan's back arched all of a sudden, revealing the wound even more to me and stretching the destroyed area of skin.

That did it.

I dropped Susan's hand, which fell limp at her side, ran to the corner of our cell and vomited.

**Caspian**

I shot up, panic washing over me like a wave.

Something was wrong. Well, at least, _more _wrong.

I didn't know how I knew, but Susan was in danger. Or pain. Or both. `

We needed to get to them tonight.

The sun had finally risen, so I jumped up out of my bed, got changed, and flew to Peter's room.

He answered the door on my second knock, the same expression on his face as what I assumed was on mine.

"You can sense it too, can't you? Something's happened," he stated, not really sounding like he needed an answer. I nodded, and turned to go to Edmund's room, but found that he was already emerging.

"Peter. Caspian. We need to go. _Tonight,_" he said, more like an order then a suggestion. We both nodded in agreement. This was freaking me out. How could we all have the same sudden reaction to an event that might not even be happening somewhere miles away? It had to be the Witch. Something told me she knew that we were coming, and wanted us to be there sooner then we had planned.

That didn't faze me, however. Susan and Lucy were in grave danger now, that much I knew, and that meant that not even Aslan would be able to stop me helping them. Peter nodded once more, then barked out orders.

"Alright. Edmund, tell Trufflehunter, Reepicheep and Trumpkin. We're leaving tonight."

**-LATER-**

"Patience, Caspian. We think we know where the Witch's castle is, and we have the wolves, who can sniff out Susan and Lucy in a crowd of a million Narnians. Calm down. We _will _save them. _Tonight_," Peter hissed between clenched teeth. _Hypocrite_, I thought.

I went to the mirror in my room, which our small group was crowded in, and appraised myself. Reepicheep and Trumpkin had agreed that we should do the very cliché thing, and dress all in black. One of the maids had earlier pressed into my hands a package of black clothes which I didn't recognise. She had looked at her feet and muttered,

"From Master Trumpkin." I had nodded, and sent the uncertain girl away. She was a dwarf, and looked very embarrassed when she spoke of Trumpkin. I wondered if he had found himself a sweetheart. Unfortunately, however, this brought my thoughts back to Susan, and my amused mood vanished. How ironic.

A clap of thunder from outside the castle shocked me back to reality, and I heard a shatter come from the kitchens below my room.

I ignored it. I could already hear shouting coming from the other kitchen staff as they tried to clean up the mess. I picked up my sword from the bed and drew it from it's sheath, staring at my reflection in the heavy iron carvings that decorated the blade. The Professor had ordered it specially made after we had defeated my uncle. Aslan and him had conspired together to make a physical representation of the Penvsie family and mine's bonds with each other. The Professor had helped carve the hilt, Reepicheep had pressed his small footprint into the very end of the hilt, and Trumpkin and Trufflehunter's hand/paw prints were both decorating the red hilt. After that, Peter had carved a lion into the sword's iron, Edmund carved the light post. Lucy had inscribed swirls and things that looked like leaves falling over snowflakes. Susan had carved an arrow and, though I swore it was just my ego trying to make me feel special, a bow that was shaped an awful lot like a heart. Aslan had blessed it by breathing it and making it indestructible and sharp as his own teeth. He had called it '_Dhriander'_, the sister blade to Rhiandon.

I loved the sword to death.

Even now, weeks after it was made, it was still as sharp as it had been when it was first crafted, and I doubted that it would ever go blunt. Unfortunately, my own mind was going blunt as I tried to remember the plan that Peter had hissed into my ear as he passed me in the hallway the other day, pretending to merely make friendly conversation.

After racking my brain for a good thirty minutes and still coming a hand and a foot short of the plan, Edmund burst into my room and nodded.

Time to go.

**Susan**

I think the guards had given up trying to tear Lucy away from me to start her duties around about the fourth time they stormed in. I thought they were alone, but a panicked Petrea followed in their wake, fear written all over her face. She ran right in, not bothering to let bars or iron or _anything _really stop her. The bars froze and shattered right before she hit them, meaning nothing was in her way. I could barely see her, I was in so much pain. Another moan of anguish flew from my mouth before I could stop it when the loud noise of her shouting combined with the ice shattering hit my already sore ears sounded like someone was holding a screaming hawk right next to my ear.

"Susan! Are you okay? What happened to you? When did you get this injury? Why didn't you tell me? Susan?" the string of questions ran out of her mouth before she threw her hand over her mouth when she realised how much pain it was putting me in, considering she was right next to me now. I groaned in response, trying to form words but mostly failing.

"Woods... ugh... woke... ah... ugh... up..." was all I managed to mumble out without completely breaking down and screaming in agony. I turned a weary eye to Lucy, who stepped forward from her mess that she was unsuccessfully trying to clean up without looking at it, or smelling it.

"She already had the injury when we woke up in the woods, Petrea. Only it wasn't this bad. I thought it would heal. I didn't mean to..." she trailed off, and I could hear the tears in her voice.

I knew what she was going to say. '_I didn't mean to make it worse or get it infected._'

I gave her the best smile I could, which I suspect came out as more of a grimace, considering Lucy's unchanged expression. _It's not your fault, Lu. _I tried to say with my eyes.

"Lucy. It's not your fault. Now let's get Susan out of here and up to a proper room where we can do the best to treat her wounds," Petrea said my words for me.

The thought of a proper bed right now thrilled me so completely that I almost forgot about the pain for a moment. Emphasis on _almost_. Petrea ordered a piece of cloth be brought down to the cell, and it effectively materialised at the small room. My questioning thoughts as to what exactly she was going to try and do with a piece of cloth were soon vanished as she put her hand on the cloth which laid flat next to me. Soon, it was covered by a thick layer ice. They rolled me painfully onto the cold stretcher, which surprisingly wasn't as cold as I thought it would have been. I guessed Petrea had some hand in the matter. However, even the small touch of the cool surface against my now boiling skin gave me instant relief, and I let loose a sigh of alleviation. Lucy gave a sad laugh at that, but didn't move when the guards lifted me up. A large wave of sleepiness suddenly fell over me. They started taking me away from our prison, but I stayed awake just long enough for Lucy to be pulled forwards by Petrea. I wasn't sure if I imagined it, but I swear that when Petrea thought no one was watching her, another wave of that demonic expression that I had seen before fell over her, and she became the spitting image of everything I imagined represented hate and sorrow.

**Edmund**

We rode long and fast that night. We must have ridden for three hours until finally we needed to give our horses a rest. We stopped at a small river for them to drink, but headed straight into going over our plan again. I demounted along with Peter and Caspian, with Trufflehunter demounting behind me and Trumpkin jumping off of the back of Peter's horse with a grumble that seemed to be him not being happy with having to share a horse. However, we couldn't risk taking too many horses, lest someone noticed something suspicious. He wandered off away from us, but I knew he'd be back. There was no way in hell he was going to miss this.

Caspian and Peter were still debating over the way they were going to get into the castle when Trumpkin finally came back ten minutes later. I still wasn't sure where they assumed this castle was. I hadn't heard anything about determining a certain location. I had only been told when they were effectively certain as to where this castle was. The griffins must have had something to do with it. He would ask them when they got back. Just something about it seemed a little off. The place where the had to go was miles off, and at least another hour's worth of heavy riding. It was going to be extremely hard for the horses to be able to run for another hour straight. It was a miracle they'd even managed to go this long without complaining. Of course, they'd chosen talking horses, just talking horses that didn't know where their riders were taking them.

"Um..." Trumpkin mumbled from behind me.

"You guys!" I yelled. They quietened. They'd been yelling on the top of their voices, most likely giving our position away to any who wanted to hear.

"Erm..." Trumpkin said again.

As Peter and Caspian promptly picked up their argument from where they'd left off, only in a more pleasant tone, my thoughts turned to my sisters as I watched the stars above us. I remembered that one night before we'd found Caspian, when we'd slept by a meek camp fire. Lucy told us she'd dreamed of Aslan that night, and that was how she knew where to go to where the Telmarine prince had been waiting.

"Um..." Trumpkin said again.

Where Susan and Lucy thinking of us? Were they scared? Did they assume that we were coming for them? Oh, so many questions. Honestly, all I wanted tonight wasn't the White Witch's death, though that held some appeal, but just my two sisters home at the castle again, safe and laughing like nothing had happened. This turned my thoughts now to Lucy's dagger. We hadn't found her Cordial, either. Or Susan's bow and quiver. What had scared Lucy so much or made Susan revert to brute close-up violence? What if they were injured? Or worse...

I shook my head, banishing such thoughts from my mind. No. Aslan wouldn't let something so terrible happen to the queens of old. He couldn't...

"Um..." Trumpkin was saying yet again.

"Spit it out, Trumpkin!" I snapped accidentally at the small dwarf, who surprisingly had a very shocked and slightly afraid look on his face, but not from my outburst. My fingers turned numb with his next words.

"Your majesties... I found her castle."

**Susan**

_Susan. Jump, Susan. _

_Susan. Susan. Jump._

_I'm awake, Susan. You know I am. You're keeping me alive Susan. Jump._

_I'm coming for you and your sister, Susan. You know I am. I'm almost there, Susan. _

_Close, so close now. _

_I'm coming to hurt you. You need to jump._

_You need to run. Run, run, as fast as you can. _

_I'm going to hurt you, Susan. Susan. Susan. Jump, Susan. _

_I spun away from the cliff and stared at the girl straight in the face, hoping she would actually talk to me instead of just putting words into my brain. No luck, apparently. _

_I'm coming, Susan. I can see you, Susan. I know you're in pain, Susan._

_I'm going to push the knife deeper, Susan. Every time I hurt, so will you._

_Every time I cry, so will you._

_We will be one, separated. Jump. Jump. Jump._

_I'm going to hurt you, Susan. Look, that's where I'm going to hurt you. Right there. _

_She raised a pale hand and placed a fingernail on my chest, over the black X that was on my heart again. My breathing increased, every part of me went numb in fear. _

_I'm going to hurt you, Susan. I'm hurting you now. You can feel it, can't you? _

_Jump, Susan. Jump._

_Go on, jump._

_I'm hurting you, Susan. I'm twisting the knife harder._

_Jump, Susan. You need to Jump._

I screamed in pure agony as I woke. An even deeper pain then what I had been going through in the cell shot through me.

"Please! Stop! Stop twisting it! Please!" I screamed as loud as I possibly could. I dropped onto the floor. My blood spilled around me as finally, _finally, _the pain became too much and I fell unconscious. Honestly, part of me hoped I was dead.

**(A/N)**

**Hey everyone :)**

**Look I haven't gotten any reviews on the last chapter, so I really don't know if anyone wants me to continue this or not. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I'm smack bang in the middle of exam time.**

**Plus, I'm getting a large case of writers block ^.^''**

**Any ideas? Characters? Events? **

**I'm really curious to know guys, seriously. Plus, what about the recurring dream?**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LEAVE ME A REVIEW!**

**Bye :)**

**allaurae**


	6. Found

**Chapter Six – Found**

**Peter**

"Your majesties... I found her castle."

Joy mixed with fear shot through me at those words. I looked over at Caspian and Edmund, who wore what I guessed was the same expression as me. One glance at each other spoke legions. Without stopping to properly process the words, we all mounted our appropriate horses, with Trumpkin sitting in front of Caspian this time. The dwarf took the reins, and soon we were all bursting through the clearing and caught sight of the Witch's castle.

It looked exactly as Peter thought it would, and remembered. Somehow, she had managed to restore her castle exactly the same way that it was, only it had more rooms around around the base of the large structure, and she had a proper, green garden. This surprised me, I would've thought the Witch would try and be a bit more conspicuous this time when restoring her home. Not to mention making it even more dark and horror-like.

Shaking away my thoughts, I turned in my seat to look at Ed. He looked terrified. I respected him for even saying that he would come with us on this mission, and was honoured by his presence, knowing that we might very possibly be facing down the very reason for his continuous nightmares. His knuckles were white around the straps of his horse, and I could tell that he was using a lot of restraint to not turn his horse around straight away and flee. Luckily, Edmund was brave. He took a deep breath and the fear in his eyes was replaced by a fiery determination that touched my heart as his fists relaxed and he settled further into his seat. Turning back around, I glanced at Caspian, and held back a laugh when I saw him already riding off into the distance. Trust him to be the first one to ride of irrationally without help. Giving a grunt and digging my heels into the sides of my horse, I soon followed him, my own gut dropping when the air around us turned thick with fog as we approached the giant castle. Reepicheep released his air from his lungs on my shoulder and a tiny fog floated past my eyes. Oh. I'd forgotten he was there. He had been so quiet. I put my finger up and shook his small hand as we signed a deal between ourselves. No one was going to be left behind tonight. No one.

**Caspian**

When we arrived at the gates of the White Witch's castle, I could feel my heart pounding heavily in my chest, not only from the vigorous ride, but also because of the fear that had re-scheduled our rescue attempt. I had suspected something bad was happening to Susan, and, Aslan forbid, it was happening inside those walls. Without waiting for the closely following Peter and Edmund, who both carried their own passengers, I jumped off at the gate and ran my sword through the thick ice gates. They swung open easily.

Strange. You would've thought that the Witch would have been more efficient with protecting herself from the outside world that she was hiding so weakly from. How odd it was that they just happened to cross the castle on their way to the location they had assumed it was. An annoying voice in my head said that it was _too _coincidental. Telling it to shut up or say something useful, I held my feet back long enough for the two kings to catch up to me. As soon as they had, we took off at the same speed, running through the courtyard for anything that looked like a cell or an entrance that would be easy to hide in, lest something happened that required drastic measures. Finally, our eyes fell on two small buildings, just tall enough to stand in. Without looking at Peter or Edmund, I swerved and ran over to them. Opening the doors, I realised with a start that they were prison cells. That greatly increased the chances of Susan and Lucy of being in there! I gave a yell to my friends to hurry up. Dashing inside as fast as they could, Trumpkin stood in the cold with his bow raised, in case anyone had noticed us and were coming to deal with the intruders. Just as the heavy door swung shut and darkness enclosed us, Edmund brought out his small metal tube thing he called a _torch_, and flicked it on. The first objects the beam of light fell on shocked us all back and had Peter raising his hand to his mouth in horror. A small skeleton lay on the ground behind startlingly familiar items. A bow and quiver. A vial of red liquid. And two rags, soaked thickly in blood.

Wet blood.

My warrior instincts kicked in, telling me to turn and fight anyone who had hurt my family. My heart kicked in telling me to cry. My brain kicked in telling the rest of me to _shut the hell up_. It had only been a few days, and it took bodies weeks, months, to rot. Exhaling, I stepped forward again and picked up the bow, quiver and vial. That knife was still bothering me. Blood, almost all the way to the hilt. Looking at the rags, sodden with the red substance, I couldn't help but compare the two items. No. I shook my head, not willing to accept something that was becoming a rather blatant possibility.

Without speaking to the others, I ran out the small room and went straight to the first entrance I could see. I needed to prove my mind wrong. My blasted mind, that filled my ever-to willing self with terrible thoughts and fears that were the stuff of nightmares and little children who didn't know what was under their beds. No. I was no monster-fearing child. I had proved long ago that the monsters I had grown up thinking were scary myths actually had the ability to be the best thing that could happen to a lonely prince.

**Susan**

I didn't think it was possible to be in this much pain. Fire was ripping through my body, seeming to only stop when it was satisfied at eating at my soul. _Make it stop. Please make it go away_, I tried to beg them, but every time I opened my mouth it just let loose another wave of screams. Eventually, I gave up.

_I'm twisting it deeper, Susan_.

I'd given up trying to plead the girl's voice for mercy soon after her words had began echoing through my mind at the beginning of my torture.

_You need to jump, Susan. You need to jump._

_I'll stop twisting when you jump._

_Jump._

_Jump!_

I groaned. If it meant getting out of this pain, I would. I would jump off of the tallest tower, especially if it meant death. No more mental and physical insanity or loneliness.

_I'll keep twisting it, Susan. _

_The pain won't go away._

_Nothing can stop it._

_I'm awake, Susan. You should run._

_Run. Jump. Run and jump._

_Fear me, Susan._

_While I feel pain, so do you._

_But I don't feel your pain. _

_Do you hate me, Susan?_

**Lucy**

Susan wouldn't stop screaming. Petrea had taken us up to her bedroom, and had laid Susan on her bed. She was currently doing all she could to help Susan's wounds. As far as I could tell, it wasn't working.

Eventually a servant came in with a plate of food and fresh water, both to drink and to soak up her blood with. It was flowing so fast. Every time we lapped it up from around the injury, another bucket-load would take it's place. If it wasn't for my desperate need for my sister to get better, I would have found it odd. But honestly, I didn't care less. Now, even though I was pretty sure Susan had fallen unconscious, she was still crying out. I wanted to reach into her body and mind, and tear away the demons that clouded her mind, or take upon myself the wounds that hurt her. I had been crying for a while.

A guard came in as soon as the servant left.

"Mistress, several intruders have been detected on the grounds. We will deal with them immediately We suggest, in the meantime, that you and your... _guests_ stay in your quarters for the time being. Also, we have news. Your mother seems to be in her final stages of sleep. She shall be awakening soon. I hope you do not mind not being there for when she finally opens her eyes," the guard announced, sounding rather bored, and bowed. Petrea nodded and waved him off. I thought I could see tears forming in her eyes, though whether they were out of joy of grief I didn't try and figure out. Because Susan had gone quiet, save for an irregular moan. And we could hear the sounds of guards being knocked around. Grunts and moans floated up to us from the hallway. Petrea stood and went to the door, most likely to look at what I assumed was an approaching threat.

The intruders had gotten inside.

Petrea spun and ran away from the door, hurriedly looking around for something. Obviously finding it, she shuffled back over to Susan and I, carrying what looked like a large sheet. Without stopping, she flung it over Susan and I. It was a weak attempt at hiding us, and trapped the terrible scent of Susan's wound under the sheet with me, but I supposed it was better then nothing. Now I only hoped that our dear friend was okay to deal with the intruders herself.

I heard the door burst open, and in walked several pairs of feet. My breath stopped at their voice.

**Caspian**

We managed to get through the guards easily, even though they outnumbered us three-to-one. Opening the door to the first room I found, there was a young girl standing in the middle of the floor, ready for us. Without stopping, I walked right on and stopped about two feet away from her. Peter and Edmund came up at my side.

"Where. Are. Our sisters." Peter's ice-cold voice sounded. It wasn't a question, but a demand.

"Who are you?" the girl replied evenly, ignoring Peter totally. I could practically hear his temper flaring.

"I am High King Peter, the Magnificent, one of the rulers of Narnia. This is King Edmund, the Just, another ruler of Narnia. We've come to take back our sisters. Where are High Queen Susan the Gentle and Queen Lucy the Valiant?" he demanded, his voice filled to the brim with almost scary-like authority.

"I don't know who you mean," she answered, quieter. Obviously she was lying.

"Look, we don't care that they were taken, we just want them back. Please, just give them back," I said, stepping forward and raising my hands in a sign of peace.

"And who are _you_?" She asked in an average attempt at changing the subject.

"I am Pr-King Caspian," I corrected myself, about to refer to my old title. It would take some getting used to. Changing the monarchy wasn't something that happened every day.

I was about to ask again, when a loud moan came from somewhere in the room, followed by something that sounded like a young girl taking in breath to stop from gagging.

"Susan," I said, turning to face the other boys.

"Lucy," Edmund finished, nodding his head. Just like that, the young girl turned and a sheet was flung off a mound that had been on her bed. I had assumed it was just a messy habit. But no, what was underneath was so much better then that.

There sat the two most perfect creatures in my life. My sister, and my love.

"Susan! Lucy!" Peter cried, and ran forward, all sense of seriousness now gone. Of course, when the young girl we had been talking to an Lucy herself ran in front of where I assumed Susan was, and not right into Peter's arms, he stopped. Everything stopped. My breathing included.

"Lucy... What are you doing? What wrong with Susan?" Peter asked, confusion mixed with pain filling his voice. Lucy barely had enough time to shake her head and say,

"Who _are _you?" when Susan's perfect voice screamed. I jumped, and had to hold myself back from running right to her, knocking everyone out of the way as I went.

Lucy also spun, and ran around to where she had been hiding, dragging the last of the sheet off of Susan, where it had been lying. The other young girl also bent down to her. And for the first time since what felt like forever, I saw Susan. She was dying.

"Peter, the knife... the blood..." Edmund whispered.

"It's hers." Peter exclaimed, raising a hand to cover his horror.

"Please don't take us from each other," Lucy was begging, clutching onto the girl – Petrea, she had explained, and Susan's hands for dear life. This confused me. Petrea was the enemy, she, or someone who she knew/was related to, had taken them away. Why did they want to stay together?

"Please, she's everything we have," she finished.

"Lucy, what are you talking about? She _kidnapped _you. She hurt Susan. And she's not 'everything you have'. You have us!" Edmund cried, walking forward. We hadn't moved since making our horrid revelation about Susan.

"What are you talking about? _Who are you? _How do you know us?" she questioned, looking like she wanted to cry. I felt fear strike my veins. She didn't recognise us. That meant Susan probably wouldn't, either.

"We're your brothers, Lucy. Of course, Caspian isn't related by blood, but..." Peter said lamely. I felt a pang in my heart at his words. It was true, though.

"Don't you remember us, Lu?" Edmund asked softly, moving forward so he could reach out and place a hand on her shoulder if he had the courage. He didn't.

"I have never seen you before in my life," she announced evenly. I felt like I wanted to cry.

Just then, Susan let loose another scream of agony, which broke my heart. Peter's protectiveness was kick-started into overdrive, and he ran forward, putting a hand onto his waist, where the vial of healing cordial sat.

"Hey-those are ours. Where did you get them?" Lucy asked. My eyebrows shot up in shock. So they recognised their own belongings, then? I was going to question, but Susan moaned again, and my control snapped. I shot forward, standing at her side and clutching her hand. Come on, Susan. Come on, fight it.

Peter popped open the vial, and poured a drop into Susan's open mouth. I calmed slightly, knowing that everything would be okay. Except it wasn't. Her wound didn't close up immediately, it didn't soothe her pains and make the blood dry up. Nothing happened. In fact, her screams increased, both in volume, frequency and amount of pain filling them. The remains of my heart broke again.

"What happened?" I cried. Peter shook his head.

"I don't know! This is supposed to heal everything!" he yelled back. What on earth was happening?

**Susan**

_Susan. _

_They tried to help you, Susan. _

_It won't work, Susan._

_I'll keep twisting it, Susan._

_Until you jump._

_But you still need to run._

_Run before you jump._

_Run, run, as fast as you can._

_Then jump._

_And the pain won't stop, Susan. _

_I'll keep twisting it._

_Do you hate me, yet?_

_If you hurt me, you will feel more pain._

_And I won't let you die._

_I am hurting you Susan._

_I am coming for you._

_I'm awake, Susan._

_Fear me._

_Jump._

**Peter**

Fear was shaking me to the core. I had never been so terrified in my life, and that was saying something, considering the numerous battles I had been in before. The cordial was effectively our second last hope when it came to helping Susan, as she was so badly wounded. And even it wasn't working. In fact – it seemed like it had made it worse. What on earth was happening to her? Oh, Aslan, help her. Please, help her. She didn't deserve this! Susan, the most gentle being in Narnia, being tortured like this seemed like the most unfair of things that could befall her.

So what was wrong? What could we do to help? What would happen to her?

My mind went back to the war that we had left behind in Finchely. Most of those soldiers would never get to say goodbye to their loved ones – goodbye for real. I couldn't imagine that happening to my poor sister. I couldn't even begin to comprehend not being able to say goodbye to her. It was too unfair – too rash. We were pretty much the only family we had left, since Dad had gone to his impending doom by becoming a soldier, and chances were we'd never see Mum again, though I suspected that was mainly because we were never intending on leaving Narnia.

"Peter, what should we do?" Caspian begged from on the other side of the bed as Susan writhed before us. For the first time, I could see his emotions, raw and painfully obvious to the world. I could see how much he really loved my sister – even though I doubt he had actually admitted it to himself yet.

"I have no clue," I said earnestly. Either way, we were getting out of there. Forgotten or not, we were these girls' siblings, and we were going to protect them, if it meant taking them away from their kidnapper that they thought to be a friend. I looked over at the Petrea girl, and stepped towards her.

"Look, I... _appreaciate... _all that you've done to... _protect _our sisters, but if we take Susan now, chances are she will get better faster. Or do you really want her to be in extended pain?" I asked, probably allowing a little too much venom to lace my words. Petrea looked torn.

After a few moments, she exhaled, closed her eyes, and nodded.

"Fine. You may take them. But I want to see them again sometime. You must promise that the moment she is able to again, that you will come back. As guests, though. Not prisoners," she added on the end, as though we hadn't understood her.

I considered this for a moment, and decided I wasn't going to get a better offer then that. Kidnapper or not – Petrea did seem to care for them, whether it be faked or not. Plus, I doubted that Lucy -with her lack of memories- would be too happy if I killed the only person other then Susan, whom she seemed to remember, that she thought she could trust. So I nodded, and Petrea actually _escorted _us out the gate. It was harder considering one horse had to have three passengers now, which was Edmund's horse. He had Lucy in front of him and Tumpkin behind him. I now carried Trufflehunter and Reepicheep, but Reepicheep didn't really count since he stayed on my shoulder the entire time, most likely for the lack of space between myself and Trufflehunter. Susan was lying against Caspian's chest on the horse that he was on, moaning every now and then. At least her screams had decreased. I didn't dare count on it staying that way for much longer, though.

I just hoped me made it back to the castle before the unthinkable happened.

**(A/N)**

**Wow, you guys are awesome. Got 2 reviews on the last chapter, and so far, that's almost a record :D Please keep it up. I love the feedback.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I got a bit of writer's block about half way through, and I admit it isn't the greatest of chapters ^_^'' therefore I made it extra long, just for you. **

**Thanks to the 5 people who have reviewed, exams are almost over so releases should increase. Any ideas, guys? Characters?**

**Also, for those wanting Suspian, don't worry, it's coming.**

**See ya,**

**allaurae**


	7. Pain

**Chapter Seven – Pain**

**Lucy**

The strange men that had found us and claimed to be our family took us to a strange castle nestled among a large village that looked like it had been recovering from a merciless ruler. I figured that was the case. Unfortunately, the man who said he was the king of the village looked nothing like the cold, heartless man who I assumed he would be to put his people through such terror. However he, _Caspian_, as he continuously corrected me, confirmed that he had only recently taken the throne. This seemed like familiar information to me, and the three people that escorted Susan and I seemed so familiar, and their mere presence soothed my fears for my sister.

After a while, I began to recognise Caspian as the man from the few memories that were slowly coming back. Eventually, I gave up trying to run from them and instead clung to Caspian's side. He was the only person that was conscious and not writhing in pain around here that I truly felt I could trust right now.

The two others, Peter and Edmund, I believe they said, didn't seem to mean Susan or I any harm, but I had learnt by now not to judge by appearances. I wondered absent-mindedly how Stterog would react to Petrea letting us go with the intruders. I winced at the mental image that appeared much too easily, and instead focused on nursing Susan on the bed beside me. It had been eight hours since we had been brought here, and every second of her screams was longer then the last. I heard the three men often praying to some sort of God – Aslan, they called him. This brought my thoughts to the strange memories of the lion that I had been thinking about. They spoke of him as though he was a father to them, or as though they had often spoken with this great being. I wondered what their relationships were.

I sat next to Susan, all hope of comforting her in her unfathomable torture lost. She had been placed in a room in a grand four-poster bed painted gold with long, velvet curtains that hung all around it. On each side of it were small, round tables with candle-sticks that looked as though they had rarely been used. The ceiling and walls were painted a kind of cream colour that I was unable to name, and the floors were dark mahogany. Underneath the bed was a dark brown rug that covered a large portion of the room's floor space. At the back of the room was a cream sofa. I had barely acknowledged a dresser and balcony doors behind me as the two guards with strange furry legs and hooves had brought my sister into the God-forsaken room. We hadn't left it since. Something about it soothed me. Whether it be the contrast of the dark floor against the softly coloured walls, or the very possible chance of freedom from this unknown kingdom with the lack of castle walls that comforted me, I was unsure.

Upon overhearing a very weakly-hidden discussion from Caspian, Peter and Edmund outside the doors of the odd room, I was slowly able to piece together some of the story surrounding this Lucy that was supposedly me.

Apparently I was an innocent, naïve girl who had been a fiery and determined redhead when I was older. Their words made no sense, but I figured that if I was this Lucy that they spoke so highly of, then I would pay no second-thought to their praises. They thought she was a brave but sometimes timid girl, who always seemed to be slightly unhappy with herself.

I managed to put together Susan's supposed personality easily. I was interested in what Caspian had to say about her. It was unbelievably obvious that he was head-over-heels in love with her.

Another of her moans brought me back to the present. This time, however, words escaped her chapped lips.

"Please... I'll jump... I'll jump! No more... please stop twisting... the knife..."

With that, I jumped up and away from Susan, fear racking through my body like thunder, though I had no clue why. _If only I was this Lucy... _I thought. _If only I was Lucy..._

I briefly noticed a gentle, urgent but soothing voice float in from outside.

"Let me see her. I will do what I can, but you need to help her and believe in her, Peter. Everything that you need to know will be revealed to you when it is right."

Even with no memories I could already tell who it was going to be walking through those doors.

Aslan.

No one else would be able to calm down those frantic boys, and maybe even me.

After a few agonizing moments, two maids opened the double-doors into the room we were in, and slowly, in walked the majestic creature who was their God.

And just like that, half of my memories made sense. Lions. No wonder. I almost groaned with the irony of it all.

Aslan approached me cautiously, as though he was afraid that he would scare me and I would pounce. Why would this majestic being be wary of me? Surely it had nothing to do with the fact that that was exactly what I was intending to do if he took one step closer to Susan?

Which, of course, is exactly what he did.

I shot around the front of the bed, knife drawn and standing protectively in front of my sister. Did these people who claimed to be my brothers honestly think I would let something as dangerous as a lion, God or not, come towards my sister? They were bigger fools than I thought. When they heard the commotion, the three young men entered. When they saw what I was doing, they cried out.

"Lucy, no!" Peter exclaimed. I was shaking with so many emotions. I was angry about them taking us away from Petrea, scared for my sister, confused about the memories that were coming back to me slowly, worried about the gentle scary lion that was still approaching me calmly, and so busy thinking about everything else that I hadn't realised that I was sobbing. The lion came to a stop right in front of me, and put a paw on my shoulder. I gave a chocked cry, and threw myself against his warm chest.

"Help her, Aslan. She's all I have left now. Please, Aslan. Please!" I sobbed, nearly screaming my words.

"I will do what I can, little one. You must have faith in your sister, though. She is fighting a great evil inside of herself right now. You all," he gave a sweeping look around the room, making eye contact with every person who had claimed to be my family member in the room, until he finally rested his gaze back on me, "need to believe in her. She will need your help."

Everything was silent in the room, until finally,

"AH!"

Susan let loose the most blood-curdling, heartbreaking scream she had made so far. It made me immediately break down into sobs again.

I was almost pushing Aslan towards her by now, desperate to quieten my sister, release her from her pain.

**Susan**

_I'm losing my patience, Susan. _

_Jump!_

_They are going to try and help you, Susan. _

_And I will make you hurt even more. _

_I will keep hurting you, Susan._

_Until you run, then jump. _

_Jump._

_Don't let them help you, Susan. _

_Jump._

_It will hurt more, Susan. _

_How much more pain can you take?_

_Do you know who I am?_

_Jump!_

**Lucy**

When Aslan walked up to my sister, relief filled me. Susan was going to be alright. Aslan would fix it. Aslan had to fix it. He would make it alright. Susan would be saved.

My tears dried up.

"This is an ancient dark magic that has a grasp on her soul. It will take many applications of magic to loosen it, let alone rid of it. I want you to know this, Lucy. I will not be able to make her better straight away," he said, looking back at me. I nodded. Anything was better than nothing. He stopped in front of Susan, and opened his mouth as if he was to bit a chunk out of her face. I strained my ears, and could hear that really all he was doing was breathing on her. Though I was confused as to how that would help, I knew that Aslan knew what he was doing. Looking around the room, I could see that everyone had taken a visible sigh of relief, and had relaxed some. They all knew it too.

Everything would be alright now.

Until Susan screamed again.

This time, it wasn't in pain, but fear. She was terrified.

And what we weren't expecting was for her to start moving. One moment, she was lying down, sedated but screaming. Then suddenly, she had jumped up and was beside the cream sofa at the back of the room, where her bow and quiver rested.

Next thing I knew, Susan's eyes had opened and she was glaring at us, practically growling, with an arrow loaded into her bow, pointed directly at our little group.

**Susan**

_Kill them, Susan. _

_If they help you, you will be in more pain. _

_NO! I screamed at the girl. Who was she? Why did she keep ordering me around? I'd already told her I would jump, so why did she keep asking? Why wouldn't she release me from this torture? _

_Why? Why? Why?_

_Because I hate you, Susan. _

_Why?_

_Jump, Susan. Jump and I might tell you one day. _

_Jump? I already told you I would! Jump off where? That cliff? In my mind, I spun and pointed at the cliff's edge. _

_Maybe. But you must remember-_

_Run before I jump, I know, I know! You told me! _

_Then why won't you?_

_Run, jump, kill, fear, hate. All the things you want me to do. I don't do those things!_

_I will not do what you tell me to! I scream at her, feeling pride in myself for finally standing up to her, despite my thorough agony._

_I faced her again, expecting her to go, leave me alone, and admit defeat, or whatever. Of course, life isn't easy like that. _

_Her face darkened, her fringe falling even further down her face to the point that I could barely see any of her face anymore. Again, hope flickered through me that she might go away._

_You're lying. You're a liar, Susan. Why are you lying?_

_My eyes widened. _

_I'm… not! I cried, taking a step back, my feet grazing the edge of the cliff. _

_You've killed before, Susan. Oh, don't you remember?_

_You lied, Susan. You've killed. You're a killer. _

_Try to remember, Susan. Remember every single life that you've taken with your own hands. Remember how their life left their eyes, and they saw no more. Remember every family that you stole from, every sister or mother or wife or brother or father or husband or aunt or uncle or friend or grandmother or grandfather from which you thieved such a great gift. _

_You're a murderer, Susan. _

_Stop, please, please stop! I cried, putting my hands against my ears._

_The girl reached down and grabbed hold of an invisible handle that attached to an imaginary blade that was buried deep within my stomach. _

_Slowly, excruciatingly, she twisted the knife. I screamed in agony, again._

_Kill them, Susan. Kill them just like you killed every other creature that you came across in the wrong mood. _

_I was pretty much gagging by now, the pain making me heave on any food I had left in my stomach. _

_What is four more people and a lion?_

_This made me stop, and it was like my heartbeat coursed through my entire body, shaking my whole being. _

_Maybe I'll just make them hear what's happening to you, let you see their tears as they cry over the unworthy girl. I think I will. I'll show you what you do to them, Susan. Show you and make you watch until you jump. _

_I was still trying to grasp a hold of something – a memory that came nearly to the front of my mind in its slippery demeanour so that I could see it but not touch it or grasp a hold of it - that spiked in my head at the side of the majestic creature standing beside my sister. _

_A lion?_

**Caspian**

I swear, these past few days had been the worst in my entire existence. Next week surely will be magnificent, if karma ever intended to repent on these happenings.

I kept trying to think along these lines, to bring some kind of humour to my mind, something to think of other then the blinding fear for the girl who stood in front of, muttering to herself, crying out every now and then, the bow in her hands at first lowering, then rising again, and so on. Anyone who walked in here right now that didn't know of the gentle queen's situation would think she'd gone mad. Maybe she had. However I refused to think like that right now. I needed to believe that she would be alright. Aslan said she would.

It was becoming very hard to believe him.

Susan seemed to be fighting an internal war – more so than when she was unconscious. At least her screaming had stopped, more or less.

Even if she killed me with her deadly-perfect aim, she wasn't screaming anymore. That was a relief. Now I only hoped I would live long enough to forget the shrill, ringing sound of it. As if reading my mind, a small, muttered sound came from inside Susan as her mouth moved. She was speaking – but it wasn't her _saying _it.

"_They can hear me now, Susan. They can hear me, too. Your sister, your God, your brothers and your boyfriend."_

"Leave Lucy _alone_!" she cried. Of course, she didn't mention anything of Aslan, Peter, Edmund, or me. I felt a fist of pain clench my heart at that. She didn't remember us, either.

"Susan!" Lucy cried from in front of me, and that one cry was nearly as heart-wrenching as Susan's earlier screaming. I tried to put myself in her shoes – in a strange place with people who are claiming to be your relatives and friends, but took you from the one person you felt protected with and then proceeded to place a stereotypically deadly dangerous animal in front of your dying, no, sister who was being tortured. I wouldn't let myself give up hope yet. Aslan had to know what to do. Surely he wouldn't let us down in our moment of most need, would he?

"_Be brave for them, Susan. Don't let them hear your pain. They will try to help you again, Susan. And I won't go away."_

"Leave Lucy _alone! _She didn't do anything to you!" Susan cried again, squeezing her eyes shut.

"_No matter what they try, what they do, I will always be here, Susan. Forever waiting. Until you jump,"_

Susan froze. Without her screaming and thrashing, the room was eerily quiet. It was then that I realised I was not breathing – nor was anyone else. I wasn't sure if Aslan was – I wasn't sure if Aslan even needed to breathe sometimes. I didn't really care right now. If only his Holy Breath could save Susan.

"_I will not leave, Susan. Not until you jump. Now, you will kill them. Kill them!"_

Her eyes snapped open again, and her lowered bow and arrow rose, pointing at our group – or more specifically, Edmund.

"_Kill them!_"

And she released the arrow.

Susan never misses.

**Hi everyone!**

**I'm so so so so SO sorry for the massive delay in between releases, but first I ran out of ideas for the story, and then my computer crashed and I lost everything (old excuse, I know). **

**But here it is!**

**Now guys, I'm desperate for some kind of advice as to what I should do. I know how I want it to end, but I don't know how to fill the chapters in between without making it boring and repetitive. **

**So PLEASE! More ideas = faster releases!  
>Thanks, guys! Oh, and a massive thanks to my epic reveiwers! ILY GUYS!<strong>

**xx**

**allaurae**


	8. Remember Me

**Chapter Eight – Remember Me**

**Caspian**

_Her eyes snapped open again, and her lowered bow and arrow rose, pointing at our group – or more specifically, Edmund. _

"_Kill them!"_

_And she released the arrow._

_Susan never misses. _

"Edmund!" Every person, even Aslan, was yelling at once as the world moved in slow motion and the arrow grew closer and closer to his chest.

I remembered a story the professor once told me – about how the kings and queens of old had received their presents from father Christmas while trying to save Edmund from the White Witch.

Peter's sword and shield which he would use to defend and protect those whom he loved.

Lucy's healing cordial and dagger, so that she could heal those wounded whilst protecting herself.

Susan's horn, so that she could obtain help whenever or wherever she needed it. And her bow. The bow that would never miss, as long as she believed in it.

Obviously, with her memories wiped and a stranger controlling her body and mind, she didn't believe in it.

The arrow soared neatly past Edmund, before perching with a loud _thunk _into the wall behind him. Lucy was in tears by now, huddled at Susan's feet, crying and pulling on her skirts. She didn't even seem to care that Edmund had nearly been shot.

"Susan, PLEASE! Snap out of it! I'm begging you!" she cried, tears streaming off her face. Anyone walking in right now would think she'd lost her mind. I guess she had, in a sense.

Lucy must have done something right, however, because all of a sudden, Susan dropped everything, and her legs caved in on themselves. She fell to the floor, and would have continued falling, had I not shot out and grabbed a hold of her before she hit the wood. Edmund and Peter had also leapt forward, however I was just slightly faster than both of them. I thought she might have still been awake, but her eyes had shut, as though she were sleeping peacefully. I looked to Aslan for help, and I could tell that he'd had some kind of part in this. For that I was grateful – I'm not sure how much more of her screaming I could take. It was so hard, just standing around listening to her evident mental and physical agony and not being able to do anything. My feelings for her hadn't helped with the situation whatsoever, just made it all the more difficult to listen to her cries. Looking down on her now, I could almost pretend the past few days hadn't happened at all, and that she was merely sleeping in my arms. It would be a nice thing to try when she had woken up, recovered and regained her memory.

Eventually, everyone in the room seemed to remember how to move again. Peter and Edmund moved forward again slightly to help me lift Susan back up onto her bed.

One look at Aslan said to leave her alone for now with Lucy. He needed to talk to us.

"Who did you meet when you found Susan and Lucy?" Aslan asked Peter, Edmund and me as we stood around in the same spot we had been before. I chewed on my lip, thinking about that _Petrea _girl. Who exactly was she, anyway? How had she managed to kidnap the girls and still have them think that she was their _friend_? And what did the White Witch want to do with Lucy and Susan anyway?

I noticed that Aslan was still waiting for an answer, as Ed and Peter were as lost in their own thoughts as I had been in mine. I recounted as briefly as I could the events that had taken place in the Castle. At some point, Peter had apparently been brought back to the real world and had tuned into what we were discussing.

"Why do you think the White Witch is targeting only the girls, Aslan? And how is she still alive? How many times do we have to kill her before she just _stops _coming back? And who was that other girl?" Peter seemed to have a continuous string of questions in him. Rightly so, too. I was barely containing my own onslaught of similar questions myself. Only a wise and slightly amused look from Aslan shut him up before Ed could do it himself.

"Peter, your answers will all be revealed to you at the appropriate time. And before you argue that this is your family, I know perfectly well how close you five are. However, some of those questions not even I am able to answer just yet," Aslan explained in his infinitely wise voice. I felt very proud when he said _five_. I was privileged to be felt a part of the Pevensie family.

I knew that that was all the information we were going to get out of Aslan as of yet, so I sighed and leaned against the doorframe, looking back into the room where Susan lay, still _sleeping _peacefully with Lucy making sure her temperature was alright and that her pulse was normal. I decided then that getting Susan better was more important than recovering their memories. If we were lucky, we could even get both problems fixed at once. However for that night, all we could do was wait until Susan woke up.

**-Next morning-**

I woke up to the feel of something cold and metal being pressed against my throat.

I shot up straight away, lunging a step away from the arrow held against my neck. Blinking a few times, I tried to get a grasp on where I was. Then I remembered. We were taking shifts to look after Susan and Lucy (Lucy wouldn't let Susan out of her sight and demanded to be allowed to sleep in the same room as her), and I had volunteered to go first – which, of course, gained me a very speculative look out of Peter.

To my relief, the person holding the arrow against my throat was Susan, herself.

"Where. Is. My sister," she demanded in a cold voice. I swallowed. Maybe I shouldn't have let Susan grab my hand while she was asleep. She was probably a bit suspicious about why she woke up holding a stranger (in her point of view)'s hand. Clearing my throat, I pointed behind her. She spun, too see a serene Lucy sleeping tucked against a window seat on the other side of the room, just where you wouldn't be able to see her if you didn't look hard enough. Susan visibly relaxed, and slowly turned back to me, obviously deciding it was best not to wake the sleeping lioness.

"Sorry. I needed to make sure she was alright," she explained, and I nodded once. I searched her eyes for any kind of recognition when she looked at me, but found none.

"If you don't mind me asking, how much of yesterday do you remember?" I questioned gently. The pain and terror that filled her eyes was answer enough to make me wish I hadn't even thought of asking her such a thing. "Oh."

She gave a hesitant smile, before giving me a once-over.

"So… I'm assuming Lucy told you to look after me? What's your name again?" she asked slowly. That hurt me deeply, but I had been preparing myself for it. It was, effectively, inevitable anyway.

"Caspian. King Caspian."

That annoying heart of mine gave a loud thump when I thought I saw a flicker of recognition in her eyes at my name.

Somehow, she must have seen this, because any sign of peace or content fell from her face as she frowned.

"I'm sorry. I'm probably supposed to remember you, right? I don't. Are you one of my brothers?" she asked curiously, raising one eyebrow. I stumbled over my words, not sure whether to be practical or metaphorical in my answer.

"N…no. I'm… not. They're currently elsewhere," I explained slowly. I could've sworn that she blushed.

"So… are you Susan's… boyfriend?" she asked, obviously recalling her words from the previous day. I struggled with that word. Peter had explained what a boyfriend was, that if I were Susan's boyfriend I would be courting her. I had flushed furiously at the prospect, but I had to admit, it held some appeal.

The idea of being able to hug Susan; to hold her hand and hold _her_ and kiss her and-

I banished all thoughts of that from my mind as I answered.

"No. Whatever was controlling you was wrong. I suppose I could be called your brother, but not by blood."

She nodded slowly, scratching her chin in interest.

"But… you do know me? And Lucy?" she asked. I nodded slowly. Her face lit up in a giant grin. "Then are you able to tell us about ourselves?" I felt a small, humourless smile grow on my lips.

"Yes," I answered simply. Suddenly, however, her eyes darkened and any trust I might have built between us was shattered with her next words.

"But… Caspian, was it? I need you to remember that while you might know me, I don't know you. And no matter how much you can help me with, you took my sister and I away from the one person we trusted, as far as I can see."

Any hope of rekindling the tense friendship between Susan and I that I had fled, leaving me cold and numb. Susan must have seen this because as soon as I lowered my head the Gentle queen utilised her most famous trait.

"I'm sorry, Caspian. But I can't trust someone who took me away from one of the two people in the world that I know and think I can trust. Petrea was our friend, and she saved us. I wish I could trust you, I do. But I can't. I barely know you. You need to know that as soon as we can, I intend for Lucy and I to go back to Petrea to try and get our memories back. Whether you will help us or not. I just can't sit here and…" Susan continued her soft rambling. I was stuck on some of the things she was saying. Couldn't trust me? I thought back to all the times I'd tried to prove myself to her, and all the time she'd proved herself to me.

_I tightened the bonds around Destrier's reins, unable to not think about how close I was to Susan. I felt awful about nearly succumbing to the White Witch's seduction, and if I thought about all that she'd done to the Pevensies, I could understand Susan's anger that I'd nearly brought her back. Needing to break the tense silence, I swallowed my pride and spoke up._

"_Destrier has always served me well. You are in good hands," it was a meek attempt at humour, but thankfully Lucy caught on and added-_

"_Or hooves."_

_I looked up at the silent Susan, pleading with my eyes for some way to make myself up to her. She stared back at me with her beautiful eyes that I found myself often getting lost in. _

"_Good luck," I said, trying to tell her to come back in one piece and not do anything reckless. Maybe convey some of the feelings I was beginning to get for her through my gaze. I didn't like what she was about to do at all, but the Valiant and Gentle queens were quite possibly our only hopes for winning this Revolution._

"_Thanks," she replied mirthlessly. My heart sank as she turned away from me to stare at the dark back of the horse she was mounted on. _

_Suddenly, an idea struck me. _

"_Look," I said, reaching down to the horn that I carried with me constantly, "Maybe it's time you had this back." My hand was shaking slightly as I presented it to her, for fear she would reject me. She lowered her eyes from the hair on the horse's neck to the cream horn I held out to her. When she looked at me again, she had a mischievous glint in her eye, which I welcomed gratefully as some sign of forgiveness for my idiocy. _

"_Why don't you hold onto it," she paused, as if considering whether or not to continue, "You might need to call me again."_

_With that, she started the horse into action, moving swiftly away, towards to the exit from the How. I noticed that she was trying a hand at humour, and gave a small smile. She had left her gentle self behind and I could visibly see her becoming the Archer queen. _

_I stood there in the dark, empty space for eighty seconds exactly, before moving outside and seeing the rear end of the dark horse disappearing into the forest, the two queens perched on it expertly. I was about to return to Peter when I heard the sound of a battle horn – a warning from Telmarine guards that their enemy was attempting to sneak away. With overwhelming fear I saw eight soldiers riding after Destrier. Heart pounding, I ran back into the How and mounted the first horse I could see. Within minutes I was deep inside the forest, frantically following the tracks left by the soldiers that were hunting down Lucy and Susan. Soon, I came to a slight clearing, and could hear the thumps and cries indicating a small battle was occurring. Suddenly, my blood turned cold and an icy rage filled my bones. Susan had managed to kill most of the soldiers, but was now on the ground backed up against a fallen tree trying to get away from the one man left who was approaching her with the intent to kill. Lucy was nowhere in sight. _

_I gave a battle cry and lurched forward on my horse, reaching the man in seconds, cutting easily through his skin and killing him. Susan looked up at me, hope and relief the most prominent emotions on her face. I strode towards her with a new sense of pride for saving her and confidence in her friendship. _

"_Are you sure you don't need that horn?" I asked sarcastically, extending a hand towards her. Without a word, she grabbed it and I pulled her up behind me on the horse. I tried to squash the thrilling feeling I got in my stomach when she slid her hands around my waist. I set my jaw, looked straight ahead and as soon as I knew she was settled on the horse, rode forward, back towards the How, and the battle that would define the fate of Narnia forever. _

Susan was still rattling on about how she was sorry, but she didn't remember me and needed to get back to wherever she had decided she felt safest. I wondered when I should tell her that it probably wasn't her decision – Peter wasn't letting either her or Lucy out of his sight ever again. And neither would I. I decided to let her talk a while longer, and drifted back into my own thoughts, back to when I had thought I could lose the Pevensies forever.

_I stepped out of the castle in my regal robes, the day after my coronation. A little girl was walking past and nodded respectfully. Where _were_ they?_

_I hadn't seen the Pevensies since the day before, the day I took up my rightful place as King of Narnia. Then, I saw them. Huddled together in the courtyard like the tightly-knit family they were. Aslan stood next to them. He must have said something, because Lucy squealed and threw her arms around the lion, forcing him to the ground. Edmund and Peter hugged each other furiously, in the manly way they seemed to prefer when expressing emotion for each other. It was Susan who caught my eye. I'd thought she was beautiful before, however now she was just simply… breathtaking. She wore a blue and white dress with long sleeves that fell to the floor, and had her hair curled with the front two strands on either side of her face braided and pulled away to be tied at the back of her head. She was perfect. Her expression of joy only added to her splendour. In her posture I could see her entire personality – her gentleness, stubbornness, exquisite aim with a bow, determination, her _annoying _honesty and everything else that made her Susan Pevensie. It was a wonder I didn't just pull her into my arms and kiss her senseless. Aslan noticed me and stood up, taking on his usual serious but calm and father-like demeanour. _

"_Your majesty," he said, drawing attention to me as I stood gawking like an idiot at the family. My eyes locked with Susan's and all the heated romantic tension from the Revolution returned. The look she gave me held enough emotion to give me hope to believe that maybe, just maybe, she might return the feelings I held for her but didn't understand. I could see Aslan's eyes darting between us, most likely sensing what I was thinking. Eventually I managed to draw my gaze away from hers, and instead looked at the family as a whole._

"_We are ready. Everyone has assembled," I announced, and led them to another section of the courtyard, where the entire population of Telmarines and some Narnians stood, awaiting the speech that they had been called to hear be made by their new young King. _

_Asland and I announced that the Telmarines could stay and live in peace, or had the option to return to the other world – the one from which the Kings and Queens of Old had come from. My Aunt, the General and one of the other Lords from the old court stepped forward to receive Aslan's blessing and go to the other world. A large tree from behind me seemed to unfurl from inside itself to creat a narrow ark that seemingly led to nothing but the other side of the tree. The group gave Aslan a questioning glance before stepping through the ark, disappearing into the air. The crowd of Telmarines began protesting that Aslan was leading them to their deaths. Reepicheep stepped forward with an offer to take a dozen mice through the ark as an example. I saw Edmund give a small snigger, and I wondered how their world treated their mice. As soon as that thought entered my mind, another crushed it. My eyes widened in panic. Did they have to leave? Were they going to go back to that strange world of theirs that they called _Earth_? My fears increased as Peter stepped forward. _

"_If that is what you truly believe, then my family and I are willing to go through the portal ourselves. We will go back to our home, and use ourselves as an example. We will show you that some things are worth giving your lives and happiness up for. Just watch us," he said, and the entire family wordlessly moved towards the portal. My heart began crashing against my chest as Susan's eyes flickered to mine and away. All at once, however, the crowd started yelling that they couldn't leave. I saw a smile grow over Peter's face, as he and the other three stopped, and turned away._

"_That is why you should know that he is not leading you to your deaths. Because two Kings and two Queens were willing to give themselves as proof, a fact that all of you should remain very aware of," Edmund announced, taking over from his brother. _

_From the glint in his eye, I could tell that they had never intended on leaving. That would have been what Aslan was talking to them about before – whether or not they should stay. And they did. _

That memory was so hard for me to remember. I was so afraid of losing my family – of losing Susan, that I had nearly leapt out in front of them and demanded that they stay put. Now, however, I'd lost two of them. Yet there was one of the lost ones standing in front of me now, with the other sleeping soundly barely thirteen feet away. I'd lost them in a different way. Physically, maybe not. But mentally, I wasn't sure that the two sisters would ever recover. That was what hurt the most. The thought of them standing so near to me, within an arms length, but still being unreachable. Now, my eyes hardened as I raised my head to look at Susan. She had stopped rambling a while ago, and was now simply standing there, looking guilty. I almost scoffed. Why would she feel the need to take the blame for what had happened to her and her sister? Oh, right. Because she was Susan Pevensie, the Gentle Queen, the Archer, the Warrior.

The woman I loved.

With my startling realisation came many reliefs. And some new troubles. I couldn't let her suffer all this on her own. She needed to know that someone was there for her. If I tried talking, she would simply reject my words and start rambling again.

"Susan," I said, my fringe covering my eyes so that she couldn't see them.

'Caspian, I'm sorry. You know I can't let you-" she started.

I leapt forward, my hands taking firm hold of her shoulders. I pulled her towards me, encasing her in a tight embrace that she, surprisingly, didn't struggle to get out of. I buried my face in her hair, inhaling her familiar scent and for a moment – just a moment; I could pretend that everything was normal.

"Caspian… I…" she tried to say, but trailed off. I pulled back just slightly to look in her eyes. They were clouded over with so many feelings, and something inside me snapped. I grabbed her cheek and pulled her even further towards me. Not missing a beat, my heart gave a final flutter as I pressed my lips to hers.

For a second we didn't do anything and I just stood there with her in my arms and our lips locked in an emotion-filled stand-still. Quickly, however, we started to move against each other, and I took the hint to deepen the kiss. My hand slid behind her waist, trying to pull her as close to me as I could while the other, which was one her cheek, fell to the back of her neck. She flung her hands behind my neck and gave a small whimper or a moan – quite frankly I was too caught up in the kiss to care. The gentleman and the King in me reminded me that this was most improper – we were not courting yet. Again, quite frankly I didn't care.

The room could have been on fire, another war might have started, the world might have ended, _Lucy might have woken up_ and I wouldn't have noticed.

When she grabbed some of my hair in her hand, I dimly felt a slight fear that she might have been preparing to break away from me. I didn't mind. I'd nearly satisfied my evil desires, so if she decided she didn't want me, I wouldn't pressure her. I let out a small moan when, instead of yanking me away, she instead seemed to pull me closer. My eyes had drifted shut by now, as I revelled in the splendour of the kiss. As if testing how far I would be able to go with her, I let my tongue dart out and lightly touched her lips, pleading for entrance. Hastily, she admitted, opening her mouth more. Somehow, at some point, I'd pinned Susan against a wall in the bedroom, careful of her still-healing and prominent wound. As soon as our tongues touched, it became a dance with heavenly beings. I wondered how someone so emotionally innocent was capable of something so sinfully wonderful. Eventually, of course, we were forced to pull away from each other for air, despite my attempts to ignore my need for it.

As we stood looking at each other, breathing heavily, I noticed that as we had pulled apart our hands had become entwined with each other. Susan wouldn't meet my eyes. She looked down after a moment, her messy hair falling to cover her face from my view. For a second I panicked – she couldn't' hide from me, I needed to see her face. Gently, I raised my hand and pushed the dark locks away from her eyes. When she shyly raised her blue orbs to meet my dark ones, I realised that she was confused. Overpoweringly confused. She needed time to think. So I raised her chin and gave her a small, tentative kiss on the corner of her mouth, then another on her lips, and left, my heart singing.

**Susan**

After the man…. Caspian had left, I slowly raised a hand to trace my lips. The memory of our kiss burned on my skin, invaded my mind and became the only thing I could think about for hours. I didn't know why he'd kissed me. He'd said that he wasn't Susan's boyfriend. But then he'd kissed me and I'd….

I'd kissed him back.

Why had I kissed him back? I barely knew him!

I looked over to where Lucy was still sound asleep, a small smile on her face. She looked so at peace, I couldn't help walking over to her and smoothing down her hair. I reached down and gave her hand a small squeeze, and was about to pull away when her hand tightened around mine, stopping me from moving. I looked down at her face, surprised, until she opened her eyes slowly, rubbing a fist over them with her free hand as she regained consciousness. I smiled.

"Morning, Lu," I soothed, kneeling to come down to her height. Lucy took one look at me and flung her hands around my neck.

"Susan! You're alright!" she yelled into my ear. I winced as the impact jostled my injury.

"Not… quite…" I gasped around the stinging pain. Startled, she shifted back to see what was wrong. When she realised the cause for my discomfort, she leapt backwards, figuratively.

"Oh, gosh! Sorry! Are you alright? Should I call for someone?" she cried, panicking slightly. I shook my head and gave her a meek smile. She stood up, and helped me back to bed. The slight jostle was causing waves of pain, one after another. They were strong, but I bit my lip and told myself to _suck it up and don't make Lucy worry_. Of course, because I refused to let her get help, she began to fuss over me relentlessly. After half an hour of her constantly worrying about my health, I caved, and told her to go and get someone to help relieve the pain.

As soon as she left, my thoughts turned to Caspian.

When I'd woken up, he was holding my hand. At that time, I didn't know who he was, and was therefore terrified to wake up alone, save a stranger that I'd only seen when possessed by a crazy little girl, with no Lucy or Petrea in sight. I'd freaked out, and grabbed the sharpest thing I could see – which, coincidentally, was an arrow – sucked up pride, and held it against his throat, threatening him. Of course, after he'd told me my sister was right in front of me, I'd felt like an idiot. We'd spoken for a while, and I recognised a heck of a lot of fondness in his voice when he spoke to me, as well as a heck of a lot of heartache when I'd explained that I didn't know him and couldn't trust him. I was however, relieved to finally find someone who knew Lucy and me. They could give us answers – after Lucy and I had returned to Petrea. She was the only one we could trust. I'd been explaining this, when suddenly he'd kissed me. Something inside of me had rekindled, probably something that I used to know, and I'd kissed him back. And now, well… now I kind of wanted to know why I'd kissed him back.

_Because you love him, Susan. Or maybe _loved _is a better word, considering you don't remember him._

I almost screamed. The girl. No… the girl couldn't be back. I'd witnessed it – Aslan had gotten rid of her, hadn't he?

_You'll never be rid of me, Susan. Not until you jump._

**Edmund**

Peter was driving me mad. He was just pacing, back and forth across the floor of the study that he, Caspian and I were sitting in.

Caspian wasn't much better.

He'd entered a while ago, flushed and muttering that Susan had woken up, seemed fine but needed some time alone and with Lucy, so we didn't need to go and see her yet. Something seemed up with him, but I didn't pry into it. We were all starting to crack under the stress of the situation at hand.

Now, however, he was just standing by one of the windows, staring out into nothing. It normally wouldn't bother me, if it weren't for the tense atmosphere around him, and his constantly clenching and un-clenching hands. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't his fault – as I'd said, we were all starting to crack under pressure. But the two older boys were acting just like that – boys. They were sulking and pacing and being basic idiots. If they wanted to help Susan and Lucy, they needed to man up and go talk to them. Peter in particular shouldn't be almost _afraid _of his younger siblings. I felt bad for thinking these things, but they were just so true.

Eventually, I was just so tired of being the younger sibling and waiting for Peter to make the first move in helping their sisters, that I was about to stand up and go see them myself first, when the doors to the study were flung open, and a panting Lucy stood at the door. Her eyes were wide, and she was panting furiously, breathless from what appeared to be a frantic run. Straight away every person in the room turned to her, worried about Susan.

We expected her to demand help, take us to her or even yell at us, but instead she marched right up to me. I noticed that her eyes were glassy.

She looked down to the floor, and muttered something under her breath.

"What?" I asked, probably a little too forcefully then I needed. Slowly, she raised her eyes and met my gaze. She took a deep breath in, and shocked everyone within ear-shot.

"King Edmund the Just, my brother, and the idiot who ran back in to get the photo of our Dad and who looked pretty stupid when he didn't believe me the first time."

**Hi everyone! **

**So, I told you this chapter was going to be big… heeheehee… *taps fingers against each other manically***

**So, once again, sorry about the slow releases. Blame it on school!**

**So geeze… Lucy remembers Edmund and the massive Suspian kiss (*cough cough* make-out session *cough cough*) that you've all been waiting for…. Not to mention revelations of love…**

**So what's going to happen to Susan? And Petrea?**

**Actually, the kiss between Susan and Caspian ended up a lot raunchier then I'd originally intended. Oh well. I'm pretty sure it's safe enough to leave the chapter at a T rating… **

**Before I go, I just wanted to say A MASSIVE THANKYOU TO ALL MY REVIEWERS. I've received some really really really really really nice reviews recently, and not to mention I've had at least 5 hits EVERY DAY. X) You guys really encouraged me to write this chapter as fast as I could and get it out to you.**

**Me is a happy author. ^_^**

**If you see any mistakes in the chapter, feel free to let me know, and I'll fix them up.**

**Keep up the epic work, guys. I'm honoured that you spend time to read this. **

**Until next time,**

**allaurae**


End file.
